The Rise Of The Phoenix
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Elijah and Selina's twins' mysterious aging is shocking at first, but soon, Elijah has bigger problems when the mummy Klaus brings back from Egypt becomes a powerful warlock who, along with their sister Freya who has turned on the family, is intent on destroying the Originals and the entire vampire species as a whole. Crossover with The Last Girl.
1. The Mummy

**Disclaimer: Only plot and original characters belong to me.**

"Yes, thank you, Lucy," Elijah said as he gripped the phone tightly after hearing her relay the story of William growing up and suggesting that it could happen to Drew and Stephanie as well. "Are you sure about this? You're not just making it up as a practical joke on me?"

"No," Lucy replied. "Have you ever known me to do something like that? I'm telling you so that if or when your grown up children come and say 'Hello' to you, you won't die of shock."

"Well, just because it happened to William doesn't mean it will happen to _our_ children," Elijah said. But then he dropped the phone as two people came into the kitchen and the young woman who had long dark hair and brown eyes said, "Hello, Daddy. What's for breakfast?"

"I-I-I…" Elijah put the phone next to his ear, apologized to Lucy, ended the call, and ran to get Selina and tell her what had happened.

"What?" Selina asked when he reached the bedroom. "I know I'm dressing for breakfast just like you asked me to. You don't have to remind me." She froze when she saw the distressed look on his face. "Okay," she said and sat down on the bed. "You're not here about my clothes, are you?"

"No," Elijah replied, shaking his head. "It's something far more troubling than that. Our children have aged somehow! There are two teenagers in the kitchen asking for breakfast! Lucy called and said that might happen cause it's happened with all the other babies in our family. And she called just in time, too."

"Honey, if this is an attempt to play a joke, it's not your best effort," Selina told him.

"It's not a joke!" Elijah cried. "Put your robe on and come and see!" He ran over to the door, opened it, and then tapped his foot impatiently when she was still looking at him with a face full of doubt. "Well, come on!" He commanded. "I'm not going to stand here all day."

With a sigh, Selina did as he asked. He hardly ever lost his mind this way, so whatever it was that made it happen must be pretty big.

But when they got to the kitchen, she didn't have the reaction Elijah was expecting.

"Oh, my god," she said, her jaw dropping a bit. "You…you really _are_ teenagers."

"Yeah," Drew nodded. "But it's not our fault. We don't even know how it happened. Please don't be mad at us."

"Mad?" Selina chuckled a little and a wide smile broke out on her face as she kissed and hugged them. "I'm not mad! I couldn't be happier!"

"You don't think this is weird at all?" Stephanie asked. "Daddy does."

"Well, you two haven't been around so long, so you don't know this, but I'm very different from your father. I have the ability to go with the flow a lot more than he does. And though it might surprise you, I have to say that this is not the first time that this has happened to a child of mine." Selina reassured them.

"Really?" Elijah asked pausing his freak out for a moment. "Who was the other one?"

"Lucy, remember?" Selina told him. "Lenora put that spell on her and Sam so she could take all their Halloween candy when she was four."

"Ah, yes," Elijah nodded. "That was the beginning of her obsession with Damon, so I think I've blocked it all out. But that explains why she's always seemed so grown up to me."

"But anyway, back to the present," Selina said as she turned her attention back to the two teenagers who were staring at her nervously. "Who wants to eat? And what would you like?"

"Just coffee for me," Elijah said.

"Pancakes!" Drew and Stephanie told her at the same time.

So she got Elijah his coffee and then made buttermilk pancakes for Drew and chocolate chip ones for herself and Stephanie.

"Do you think Daddy's gonna be all right?" Stephanie asked as she poked her fork into her first bite.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Selina assured her. "He just needs time to get used to you two suddenly being big. That's all. He waited a long time to have more babies in the house."

"Do you think he still loves us?" Drew asked.

"Of course he does," Selina nodded. "Now, I'm gonna go get some blood for myself. You two wanna feed now or later?"

"We might as well do it now," Drew said while Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Go ahead and get some for us too, please."

* * *

"I don't see why you're so shocked," Mikael told Elijah. "If the kids are grown, that's not a bad thing. You can be thankful that you don't have to spend all those years caring for them while they do nothing for you."

"I love that time period," Elijah replied glumly. "I'm not happy I'm missing out." He looked at Gwen. "Do you have any idea why this happened? Is it some sort of magic?"

"I would say it has to be," Gwen nodded. "Possibly it's an effect of a time travel spell that wasn't done correctly. And unfortunately, I have to warn you that it might not be reversible. You still love your children as they are, right?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, it's just that you seem so heartbroken about this sudden change that I wonder," Gwen replied. "How is Selina taking it?"

"Wonderfully," Elijah told her, his voice glum. "A little _too_ wonderfully if you ask me. She's over the moon because the children being grown up means that she can drink again and have caffeine and sleep more. Is it wrong of me to wish that she thought differently? That she was just as heartbroken by what happened as I am? Sometimes I have to wonder if she even likes children, or if she just has them for my benefit."

"Oh, I don't think she'd have them just for your benefit," Gwen chuckled. "She's not the type to be that self-sacrificing. If she's willing to get pregnant, it means that she wants to have children too. Talk to her about this. I think you'll be glad you did."

Mikael rolled his eyes. "Here we go again, talking about feelings. When you're done being upset about the blessing you were given, bring the children over to meet us sometime."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "I will."

* * *

"Hey," Selina said as she made her way into Elijah's office later that day. "How were things at your dad's?"

"Fine," Elijah replied, taking another swig of scotch and sighing. "Just wonderful."

"You wanna talk about what's going on with you?" She pressed, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the desk. "I really think we should."

"All right," Elijah nodded, putting both his palms down on the table and leaning forward. "Let's talk. And I'm going to be completely honest here, even saying some things that you might not want to hear."

"Oh, I'm used to that by now," Selina told him. "You say what you want and I'll just correct you."

"Good," Elijah nodded. "Here's my first question: why aren't you as heartbroken about us not having babies anymore as I am? It's not because you hate them, is it?"

"No!" Selina shook her head and stared at him, aghast. "Do you honestly think I would put myself through the whole child-bearing process if I didn't want children just as much as you? If I didn't want children, I wouldn't get pregnant. The only time I ever remember _not_ wanting them was when I was Lonely Heart and just wanted to be with guys and have sex."

"Doesn't it upset you that we won't have baby pictures or movies or hear their first words or see their first steps?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah, it does," Selina told him. "But the way I see it, bemoaning all we lost because of this won't change anything. It won't turn them back into babies or whatever. So we just have to enjoy what we have now, even if certain things are more memorable when the people doing them are tiny, chubby, and wobbly and not teenagers." Her voice gave out a little at the end and he came around and held her. "It's okay," he assured her. "Go ahead and cry if you'd like. They won't know. And we have to figure out how this happened. Who caused it. Because it obviously wasn't either of us."

"No," Selina shook her head, pulling away from him. "It most certainly wasn't."

* * *

"Mom, do you think there's anything we can do to cheer Daddy up?" Stephanie asked Selina a few days later, her dark eyes full of concern. "I know he's trying to hide how shocked he is so we don't think he doesn't love us, but you can still tell."

"I know what might cheer him up," Selina said.

"What's that?" Drew asked, his blue eyes bright.

"I think I might just go ask your grandmother when his birthday is, and even if it's nowhere near today, we'll throw him a surprise party." Selina clapped, happy with this decision.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Drew asked. "Or do you want us to stay here?"

"Oh, no, you can come," Selina smiled. "Let's go."

Before they were able to go see Esther, they had to stop by Roxie's to ask Ronan what in the world their address was.

"If it's something that I can help you with, I would be more than happy to," he told her as he poured her her first drink in a while and then got the twins some sodas.

"That's very sweet, but in this particular case, I don't think you'll be able to do any good," Selina told the man who was Klaus' father. "What I have to ask isn't about Klaus."

"We want to know when our father's birthday is so we can throw him a surprise party," Stephanie added.

Ronan chuckled at this and gave Selina a look. "Do you really think that man of yours will be able to _tolerate_ a surprise party? I don't think he's going to be happy about it."

"Of course he will," Selina nodded and took a sip of her drink. "Now, what's your address? And is she home so we can just go and talk to Esther once we leave here?"

"Yes, you should be able to," Ronan nodded. "And I know you and she haven't had much time to talk to one another. Would you like me to come with you when you do?"

"No, thanks," Selina smiled and shook her head.

"All right," Ronan nodded. "Good luck."

* * *

"Okay," Selina said as she put the cake she bought from the store on the table, along with a few presents. "Who wants to go get your father?"

"I will," Stephanie replied and strode off.

"Is there a reason why you didn't bake the cake yourself?" Drew asked. "You bake a lot."

"Yes, but I knew that if I baked this, he would come out early and see what was going on," Selina explained. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise." She then turned to fix the "Happy birthday" sign she'd made, chuckling. Apparently, Elijah's birthday was on Christmas Eve, which was, in a way, the opposite of her own birthday on All Hallows' Eve. It just seemed to fit, oddly enough. And it explained all the times he'd asked her if he could open a few of his presents early and then when she told him he could do whatever he wanted because he was an adult, he'd just open a couple of presents and chuckle to himself as if he were in on a secret she didn't know. Well, now she knew it: it had been his subtle way of celebrating his birthday without letting her in on it.

"Surprise!" Selina cried when Stephanie brought Elijah into the kitchen. His eyes widened and then he tightened his hold on Stephanie's hand. "What in the world is going on here?" He asked her.

"Mom thought a surprise birthday party would cheer you up," Stephanie replied and ushered him into a chair. "Did it?"

"Well," Elijah turned his body to face the table. "I'd never say 'No' to a cake. That's for certain." He looked at it and then at his wife. "Thank you for buying the cake so the surprise wouldn't be ruined."

"You're welcome," Selina smiled. "You're not mad at this?"

"No," Elijah assured her. "I'm not. But how…how did you find out my birthday?"

"I did what I should have done a long time ago," Selina smiled. "I asked your mother."

"Oh, yes," Elijah nodded. "That would certainly get you an answer. Do I get candles?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Of course!" Selina nodded. "You get presents. Why wouldn't you get candles?"

"I'll get them," Drew volunteered. "How many do you want?"

"Not one for every year of my life," Elijah told him. "That's for certain."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Otherwise the house would be set on fire!"

"As it would for you," Elijah reminded her.

"Good point," Selina nodded.

So Elijah arbitrarily picked ten candles to put on his cake and then Drew lit them with a lighter. Afterward, Selina and the kids sang "Happy Birthday", and once the cake was eaten, the presents were opened, and the twins had left to do their own thing, Selina gave Elijah a hug.

"Are you feeling better about all this?" She asked. "It seems like you are."

"Yes," Elijah sighed. "It was like you were saying before: being upset won't change anything. It'll just make things worse for me. Plus, if I dwell too much on what isn't, the twins really _will_ pull away, and I think that's what I was most worried about more than anything else. So I'll do the best I can to bond and we'll see what happens."

Selina hugged him and smiled. "That," she said, giving him a deep kiss, "is a very healthy attitude. I'm very proud of you."


	2. Flirting With Danger

While Elijah dealt with mysteriously grown up children, Felicity had problems of her own. When Lucien had promised they would see each other again, he wasn't kidding.  
"You know you are _very_ determined," she said as she drove along the road one day after getting ice cream and saw him jogging beside the car. "I have to give you that."  
"Well, how kind that you noticed," he said with a smile. "Do you find that an attractive quality in a man? Why don't you let me in the car so we can talk about this?"  
"I could, but I don't want to," Felicity replied. "You caught me at a really bad time."  
"All right," Lucien nodded pleasantly while Felicity pondered whether or not to shut the window on his fingers. "What would be a good time? How about I take you to dinner and buy you a big steak? Would you like that?"

"Are you going to pester me about this until I tell you that I'll go out with you?" Felicity asked, eying him warily. "I don't know how well this wooing technique of yours worked in the past, but I really think you need to find some other way. And if you keep jogging in the road like that, you're gonna be hurt or killed. Not that I care, but I figure I'll be a good sport and warn you."

"Well, if you would just let me in your car, we wouldn't have to worry about that," Lucien replied. "Can I come in, please?"

"No!" Felicity frowned and shook her head. "What do you think I am, an idiot?"

"No, but I thought you were someone who was very kind," Lucien told her. "I guess not."

"If you're trying to guilt me, you don't know me very well," Felicity told him. "Guilt is not something I feel a lot, _especially_ toward people who annoy me." She paused. "But I suppose…I suppose I could give you a ride this once if it will make you go away after that." She stopped the car, which led to a bunch of angry honking from several cars behind her.

"You know what, fuck you all!" She cried, sticking her head out the window to yell it and giving everyone the finger. She then noticed Lucien staring at her with a look on his face.

"What?" She asked as she watched him. "I never said I was a lady." Then she reached over the back of the driver's seat, bending in an extraordinary way so that she could unlock the back door.

"I see there's an empty seat beside you," Lucien observed after he crawled inside the car. "Wouldn't it have been easier for me to sit there?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "You're not sitting next to me. That's a spot you have to earn the right to sit in and you haven't."

"Oh, but I will," he smiled. "Don't worry."

"I'm not," Felicity told him. "Trust me."

"I have to say, I like this conveyance very much," he told her after some silence while they drove along. "It's so neat and clean and not as unpredictable as a horse and buggy."

"Well, I'm glad you like it," Felicity replied.

"Now, about my proposal for you to have dinner with me," Lucien continued while she groaned. "What do you say?"

"You and I both know that there's only one answer you're going to accept, so I'll go with you," she told him. "It's a free meal for me since you're paying."

"Naturally," Lucien nodded. "I don't see how you would. What day is this?"

"Wednesday," Felicity replied. "Why don't we get it over with and go on Friday?"

"Such enthusiasm," Lucien replied with a smirk. "I like that in a woman."

"I'll just bet you do," Felicity told him. Then she paused. "Where did you say you wanted me to drop you off? You never said a place?"

"Why would I when I can spend the time talking to you and enjoying your company?" Lucien questioned.

"Well, I have a life to be getting on with," she told him. "So tell me where to drop you off. I can't drive around all day."

"Oh, all right," Lucien told her. "Drop me off at your grandfather's. But we'll still see each other on Friday, right?"

"Of course," Felicity nodded. "I'll meet you at your house. You don't have to come pick me up. It won't be much of an evening if my father kills you before we're able to go to the restaurant."

"All right," Lucien nodded as they drove in the direction of Klaus and Amy's house. "I'll see you then."

* * *

"It's about time you got back from wherever it was you ran off to," Elijah chided his brother as Amy brought him and Selina into her and Klaus' living room. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't return."

"And would that _really_ have bothered you?" Klaus asked without looking up.

"Of course it would have!" Selina told him, taking a seat on the sofa next to his. "We both care about you! And what do you think Roxie, Adrian, and Lucy would think if you didn't come back? They would be very upset!"

"What knickknacks did you bring home?" Elijah asked. "Anything interesting?"

"Just a mummy," Klaus replied. "Of a mysterious warlock called the Phoenix."

"You…you what?" Elijah asked. "How could you do that!" He punched Klaus in the face which caused a stream of blood to flow down out of his nose.

"What's going on?" Amy asked. "What's the problem?"

"The Phoenix is dangerous and should have been kept right where he was!" Elijah told her. "By bringing him back, you've really screwed up!"

"Why?" Klaus asked. "It's just a mummy! An old, dried up corpse! What can happen?"

"Well, it's always possible that someone could steal it!" Elijah told him. "In life, the Phoenix was a very powerful man, you know. Powerful enough and vengeful enough to destroy anyone he chose."

"So?" Klaus asked. "Now he's dead. Corpses can't do anything. I think you're worrying for no reason at all. Unless you know something I don't, in which case you should tell me right now."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "What do you know that we don't?"

Elijah sighed and pushed his hair back. "Right now, they're just really powerful suspicions, nothing I know for sure," he said. "But Niklaus, you watch that mummy. You make sure no one steals it. And if they do, you look around every corner and under every stone until you find it. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Klaus sighed. "But it's a treasure I brought all the way from the past for my own personal enjoyment. Why would I lose it?"

"Don't ask me to tell you how your mind works," Elijah told him as Selina put her hand on her husband's arm. "After a thousand years, I still haven't figured it out."

"So, to change the subject," Selina replied as she sat next to Amy. "How was Egypt? I want to know. Will you tell me?"

"Of course," Amy nodded. "Be prepared for a very exciting story."

"Wonderful!" Selina smiled. "I love exciting stories. Go ahead and tell me everything. Don't leave out a single detail!"

* * *

"I'm really sorry I let Klaus bring the Phoenix back," Alistair apologized to Elijah. "I just…how bad do you think the consequences will be?"

"Really bad," Elijah replied. "I don't know specifics yet. If I did, I would tell you. But that's not what I want to talk to you about. It's that our twins, well…they've grown up at an alarming rate. They're teenagers now. Do you know how to fix that?"

Alistair groaned. "Your children too?" He asked. "Helene's has that problem, even though I have yet to meet him and I'm sure that any babies born in our bunch with magic heritage have also grown. I knew I shouldn't have let Astrid bring us back. She's much too inexperienced with that type of spell. She didn't say it right, and now every magical child below, say, the age of three that's in our area is aged and there's no way to reverse it!"

"So it wasn't done with evil intent?" Elijah asked.

"No," Alistair sighed. "Just ignorance. But I won't tell Astrid what she's done. It would kill her if she knew."

"That seems like a good plan," Elijah told him. "You're a good husband."

"I try to be," Alistair replied. "But sometimes, I don't know."

* * *

And he tried to keep his word, but after spending a few hours at Malachai and Helene's with their now-teenage grandson, it was a very tense ride home in the car.

"I did that, didn't I?" Astrid told Alistair. "Made William be grown up way too fast and shoot fire everywhere?"

"Now, now, we don't know that," Alistair told her. "It could have been anything that did it. Don't be so quick to blame yourself!"

"Why not?" Astrid wanted to know. "You made it very clear before we came back that if I did the spell and you didn't, things would be messed up and you were right!"

"I only said what I said because I was angry about Helene and everything and I took it out on you," Alistair told her. "I'm sorry. While it's possible for changes to happen after time travel, it's nothing like what we saw with the children. Something else is at work here that has nothing to do with you."

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked.

"Yes," Alistair told her. "Positive. I don't know what it is, but I'm very certain you're not responsible."

"Good," Astrid nodded, "I'm so relieved. And I'm going to let you cast the time travel spells from now on since you know what you're doing."

"I could teach you the proper way to cast them," Alistair told her. "Would you like that?"

"Yes," Astrid smiled and took his hand. "I would, thank you."

* * *

"Well, you're dressed very snazzy for 'pizza and soda in front of the TV' night," Adrian told Felicity as he caught her leaving to go meet Lucien. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes," Felicity sighed. "I don't mean to ditch you, but this is just something I have to do. We can do pizza night tomorrow if you don't want to do it alone."

"No, that's fine," Adrian shrugged. "Maybe I'll invite Kai over and he can eat what you usually do."

"That's good!" Felicity smiled. "A very positive idea. You two have a good night."

He looked at her white slacks and sparkly red shirt. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm meeting someone for dinner," she told him. "I'll probably reqret wearing this, but there you go."

"Who are you eating with?" Adrian pressed. "Anyone I know?"

"No," Felicity said quickly. "Now, not to interrupt this fun interrogation, but I have to go, otherwise I'm going to be late. I should be back before midnight." She then ran out before Adrian had time to ask any more questions, got in her car, and drove away to meet Lucien.

* * *

"You're late, Kitten," Lucien told her when he opened the door, already clad in his coat. "I was beginning to get worried."

"Oh, it's not my fault," Felicity replied as she stepped through the door and threw her coat at him. "I tried to sneak out, but my father caught me and subjected me to a really annoying and lengthy interrogation. But I escaped from that and here I am."

"You look nice," He commented. Then pulled a red rose out from under his jacket. "And this is for you. It matches your shirt. That's fortunate." He then said, "Is it common for women to wear trousers out in public?"

"Yes," she said. "It's common for women to wear trousers all the time now if they choose. Let me see what you're wearing. I hope you chose something dashing."

Lucien grinned as he removed his coat and Felicity looked him over: gray slacks, white shirt, black sweater vest. "Did Amy or Grandpa help you decide what to wear?" She asked. "They did a good job, aesthetically speaking."

"Well, thank you for noticing and saying it to my face," Lucien told her. "Now, shall we go before anyone can come and engage us in boring conversation?"

"Oh, yes, please," Felicity nodded. "Let's go!"

* * *

They got to the table and sat down, and Lucien asked, "So…what is it that you're gonna have?"

Felicity gave him a small smile. "You promised me a big steak, didn't you?" She asked. "I'm not passing that up." She paused. "What are you ordering for yourself?"

"I'm not much of an eater," he told her. "I'll finish whatever you don't eat."

"If that's the plan, you might want to order yourself something," Felicity replied. "You underestimate me."

"I can't wait to be proven wrong," Lucien smiled. "If you accomplish this, I might buy you dessert too."

"And if I don't?" Felicity asked. "What do I have to do for you?"

"I get to finish your steak, and you kiss me goodnight in the car when I drop you off at home," Lucien told her. "Deal?"

"Oh, sure," Felicity nodded. "What the hell?"

When the steak came, it was large, but she knew she would have no problem finishing it off. She practically inhaled until, with two bites left, she paused, pushing the plate at Lucien.

"Full?" He asked, with slight evil laughter as he rubbed his hands.

"Actually, I'm not, but it's really good and I think you should try it," Felicity told him.

"All right," he said, a little put off as he put the last two forkfuls of meat in his mouth one right after the other and swallowed. "You're right," he told her after. "That _is_ good!"

Even though she technically hadn't fulfilled her part of the bet, Lucien brought Felicity dessert anyway, a coffee-flavored crème brulee which they shared. Then they headed back to Klaus' so she could drop him off, and as they made their way to the door, Felicity did something that surprised him. She gave him a kiss. Nothing deep, of course. Just a quick peck before she pulled away.

"What was that for?" He asked, touching his bottom lip in surprise.

"It was my part of the bargain," she said. "You brought me dessert even though I didn't finish the steak, so I'm gonna kiss you to fulfill my end."

"I had no idea you were such a romantic," he told her dryly. "When I asked you to kiss me, I was expecting a bit more."

"Well, that was in the event that I got full and didn't finish the steak," Felicity countered. "I could have. I was plenty hungry. I was just sharing. Showing you what a decent person does. So therefore, I don't have to fulfill your condition as you thought I should. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home before Dad asks me too many questions. Good night." She headed off down the front steps while he waved at her. "Goodnight, Kitten. "Thanks for the kiss, even though it wasn't as good as I know you can do!"

Felicity turned when she heard this and strode back to him. "Getting a real kiss is like riding in the front seat of my car," she said. "You'll get it when you earn it. It's a privilege, not a right. And at the moment, you are so far away from earning it that it's not funny. Now, good night again." She turned on her heel, stomped off, got in her car, and drove away without looking back, thinking of just what to tell Adrian when he asked for specifics about how her night had gone.


	3. Hit The Sheets

"We've already gone on a date," Felicity told Lucien when he was bold enough to call her at home. "What more do you want?"

"I could give you a list," Lucien replied. "Do you really want to hear it?"

"No, that was a rhetorical question," Felicity told him. "What in the hell would make you so insane as to call me at home? What would you have done if my father had picked up?"

"I would have tried my best to convince him I wasn't so bad," Lucien said easily. "What else?"

"Yeah, okay," Felicity agreed. "Now, tell me what you called for? Date number two?"

"Yes," Lucien agreed. "You could pay this time. I asked Amy and she told me about the delightful idea that women pay for things today."

"Oh, all right," Felicity sighed. "I hope you don't have your heart set on going anywhere fancy. Do you?"

"Well, what sort of other places are there to go?" Lucien asked.

"I'll show you," Felicity smiled. "Just you wait."

* * *

She waited until Adrian went away for the weekend and then drove over to Klaus and Amy's;

"Well, here I am again!" She announced when he opened the door and there she was. "I'll take you to get fast food, and then we can go see a movie!"

"As delightful as that sounds, I don't really want to do the same thing we've already done," Lucien told her as he took steps toward her.

"Okay, fine," Felicity told him, flipping her blonde hair. "If you're gonna reject my ideas, you better have a good one of your own."

"I can assure you I do," Lucien said, putting his cold hand in hers. "Is your father home right now?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "He's left for the weekend. Why would…oh, for heaven's sake!" She cried. "No!"

"Why not?" Lucien asked. "You don't seem like the sort who's saving yourself for marriage." He took her in his arms. "Come on, Kitten. Why wouldn't it work? It's not like I'm asking you to marry me or anything."

"Good, because if that was the case, I would say 'No' for sure," Felicity replied. Then her mind began to wander, memories of his naked self in her bedroom mirror. She could do worse. "On the other hand…you're not asking for a lot of my time. Just a night, right? That's doable."

"It just touches me how enthusiastic you are about every romantic evening I want to plan," Lucien told her. "But as long as I get what I want, I don't care."

They got in the car and headed to Adrian's. Parking the car in the driveway, they headed inside and Lucien began to head in the direction of where he believed the bedrooms were, but Felicity ran after him.

"Wait, come here!"

"What?" Lucien whined. "What do we have to do now?"

"I just thought we should get a drink first," Felicity replied. "But if you want to spend as little time with me as possible, that's-"

"No, no!" Lucien shook his head. "If that's how you're thinking, I'm all right with it!"

They both sat down at the table after getting a bottle of red wine, poured glasses for each other, toasted, drank it, and then when Felicity stood up to take it away, he said, "No, let's keep it to take to bed with us. It could make things interesting."

"All right," Felicity smiled and beeped his nose. "Lucky for you, I can hold my alcohol."

"I knew you could," he told her. "That's why I suggested it in the first place."

"Oh," Felicity giggled. "Good.

They then made their way to the bedroom with the bottle and Felicity said, "You know what? Let's play a game. How about we tell one another things about each other and then have a drink?"

"Sounds good to me," Lucien replied. They passed the bottle back and forth, asking each other questions like, "What's your favorite color?" and "Did you have a pet when you were little?" When that bottle was empty, Lucien asked if she was ready to go to bed.

"Not yet," Felicity shook her head. "Let's get another bottle." She got up, stumbled to the kitchen, then came back, falling in the bedroom doorway. "Oops," she said. "I fell down. Take the bottle so it doesn't break."

Lucien took the half-empty bottle, and then watched with a smile on his face as she stripped down and stood naked in front of him.

"Now it's your turn," she said, pulling at his belt and the waist of his pants. "Now you get naked."

"Well, how can I refuse a request like that?" Lucien asked. He stripped down and was about to kick his pants away when he slipped on them and fell into Felicity's arms, kissing her deeply and then pushing her onto the bed, kissing her furiously.

"Oh, don't be gentle," she told him as he kissed down her torso. "I like it rough."

"All right," Lucien replied with a smile. He bit her, swallowed her screams with a kiss, and then ran his hands over her body, scratching her stomach with his nails and licking up the blood from the shallow cuts before biting his wrist and smearing the blood on the inside of her thighs and slowly licking it off before moving upward and making Felicity gasp.

"Come inside me!" She demanded. "Do it now!"

Looming over her, his eyes lit up and wicked, he kissed her again before burying himself inside her and making her scream his name over and over again as he twisted his fingers in her long blonde hair.

* * *

"I think we should go," Davina said as she tried to pull Thomas away from his constant vigil at Charlotte's grave. "If this did anything to help your grieving process, that would be one thing, but it doesn't. How long will this go on before you stop punishing yourself?"

Thomas turned to glare at her, stood up, and gave her a slap on the face. "If you don't want to be here, then you don't have to be here," he said. "You're the one who wanted to come along when I told you specifically that this was something I wanted to do alone."

"I came because your mother asked me to, Thomas," Davina told him firmly. "She's worried about you. She thinks something is really wrong."

"No," Thomas snapped, lying down on the grave and pulling a blanket over himself as it started to rain. "I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. Like I said, go home."

"Fine," Davina sighed. "If you want to make yourself sick, that's your right, I guess." But once his eyes were closed, she got down on her knees and kissed him before getting up, disappearing, and going back to Kai and Victoria's, making a stop at Amelia and Andrew's along the way to tell them where he was and the state he was in in case they would be able to help him in a way that she couldn't.

* * *

"Well, look at you," Samantha told her as Davina appeared at home and walked back to her room. "You look like a drowned rat."

"I just…I was with Thomas," Davina told her. "It's the right thing to do. He needs me."

"I hope he returns the favor when he's in his right mind again," Samantha smirked. "Maybe he could take you to bed. Make it so you're not a virgin anymore."

Davina was about to respond to that, but heard a noise that distracted her. "What's that?" She asked.

"Nothing," Samantha replied lightly. "Goodbye." She shut the door rather abruptly and then Stefan sat up, frowning.

"What were you doing?" He asked grumpily as she came over to nibble on his ear. "I'm doing a stupid and dangerous thing coming here. The least you could do is not take my time and give it to someone else."

"Oh, I know, you big baby," Samantha replied, taking off the bathrobe she wore. Then she joined him in bed, kissed him, and then straddled him. "Even though you're whining and I hate that, I'll make it worth your while."

"How?" Stefan asked, bringing her wrist to his mouth and giving it a slight bite, not deep enough to break the skin. "Cause I have ideas of my own."

"You do?" Samantha laughed. "Why don't you just do them? I won't mind."

"Well, if I try too hard, I'll kill you, won't I?" Stefan asked.

"You could," Samantha nodded and leaned down so that her long hair was tickling his nose and he sneezed.

"Sorry," he apologized as she made a gagging noise.

"It doesn't matter," she said with a sigh. "But you have to bite me now."

Stefan obliged and to his surprise, she was smiling widely the whole time. When he thought he'd taken enough, he released her wrist and watched with fascination as she licked the blood off and then smiled. "It's good," she said with approval. "No wonder you like it so much." She then leaned down to kiss him as he chuckled, and zapped handcuffs on him to restrain him as she rode him hard, chuckling at every sound that came out of his mouth until she felt a little woozy.

"Wow," she said and lay down beside him. "That was weird."

"Were things spinning?" Stefan asked and bit his wrist. "You need blood to make up for what I took."

"All right," she nodded, drinking much longer than he felt she needed to.

"You're really weird," he told her after he was able to detach her and he licked all the blood off her mouth.

"Good," she smiled proudly. "Glad you think so. I hope that doesn't scare you off. Cause that's what I was going for."

"Interesting," he remarked and played with her dark hair. "When can we do this again?"


	4. Truth And Consequences

When Adrian hadn't seen or talked to Felicity by the afternoon of the following day after returning home, he decided to be a good parent and check on her. He opened the door to her bedroom and saw the lump under the covers. "Felicity?" He asked quietly as he approached the bed. He pulled the covers aside and growled deep in his throat when he saw that Felicity was in bed next to the sleeping form of Lucien.

"Damn you," he said. He picked Felicity up and carried her to his bed, then climbed into bed where she'd been, so when Lucien turned, cuddled up against him, and whispered, "Felicity, is that you?" he was able to throw a bucket of cold water on the thought.

"No, guess again," he said as Lucien opened his eyes and gasped in surprise.

"Well, shit," he said and then tried to take off while protecting his manhood with the sheet.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Adrian shouted as they ran around the house while Felicity continued to sleep, completely unaware. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Finally, the crash of dishes startled her awake, and, with her head pounding, she whispered a stream of curse words before looking around and realizing she'd been moved. "Okay," she told herself. "What am I doing in here?" After deciding that maybe she'd stumbled in the room while intoxicated, she disregarded the fact that she was naked, took a deep breath, and sprinted back to her own bedroom so she could put on a bathrobe, and then go in search of the racket that had awakened her and made her aware of how hungover she was. She followed the noise, and from a distance, she saw her father and Lucien in the kitchen, and though Lucien was trying valiantly to defend himself, Adrian was winning.

Not saying a word, she went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. When they saw her, they paused and she said, "Oh, no. Don't stop on my account. I'm just getting some breakfast. And Daddy, I'm a little hungover. Do you have that recipe Grandma Selina has for the hangover cure?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "I'll get it for you after I finish this." He punched Lucien in the face while Felicity leaned against the counter and ate a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

"Hey, hey, Kitten?" Lucien got out when he could speak. "A little help?"

"I don't think you'd want the help I feel like offering," Felicity smirked at him. "I'd rather just stay here and be entertained by the fight. But I admire your courage for asking."

Having lost the support of the person he thought would help him the most, Lucien tried the last weapon he thought he had in his arsenal against Adrian. "I'm your father's oldest friend," he reminded him. "The first vampire he ever created. He'd be very upset if you killed me."

"You think so?" Adrian asked, smirking. "Well, I'll just go and ask him about that." He then said to his daughter, "Watch him like a hawk and make sure he doesn't run away. I'm not done with him yet."

"All right," Felicity nodded and took another bite of cereal. "No problem."

Once Adrian was gone, she finished her cereal, threw the bowl in the sink, and when she saw that Lucien was trying to make a run for it, pushed him down on the tile floor and kneeled on top of him so he couldn't move."

"I have a question," he said with a grin as he looked up at her very determined face. "Are you as turned on as I am right now?"

"Are you really going there?" She asked. "That's what Dad wants to kill you for, you know. I'd keep a lid on it if I were you."

"Do you really think he'll kill me if Klausy tells him he can?" Lucien asked. "He wouldn't really do that, would he?"

"Well, the thing is that Dad's pretty even-tempered when compared with Grandpa," Felicity informed him, which gave Lucien a glimmer of hope. But she wasn't finished talking yet. "But, if he gets pissed off, he _really_ gets pissed off." She smiled. "And you, my friend, have pushed him over the edge."

"For what?" Lucien asked. "Doing something that you _agreed_ to do with me? You're gonna tell him that part, right?"

"Yes, yes, I'll mention it," Felicity sighed. "But he's been wanting to beat you up for ages and now that he's having his chance, he might just be nicer to you after."

"Don't tell me things that aren't true," Lucien said. "Then he gagged. "Move you knee, please," he requested. "Othewise, I fear I'm going to throw up all over you."

"Well, if you put it that way, I will," Felicity nodded, moving her knee and letting him stand up.

"I know your father doesn't want me to run away, so let's hold hands to show him that I'm staying right where I am." He grinned broadly.

"Fine," Felicity groaned. "Whatever."

"How's your head?" He asked. "Bad?"

"Yes," Felicity spat. "How is it that yours isn't?"

"Years and _years_ of drinking," Lucien smiled. "I've had practice."

"Well, good for you," Felicity told him dryly. "Would you like me to throw you a party?"

He gave her a serious look. "Well, you seem to be eating just fine," he remarked. "That's good." He poured her a large glass of water. "Drink that," he ordered. "You need to replenish your fluids. That will help."

"Are you seriously telling me how to make my hangover better?" She asked, taking the water.

"Of course," he nodded. "I'm not a complete monster." He watched her drink the water and when it was all gone, he asked, "How do you feel? Better?"

"Much," she nodded. "Thanks. What do I do now?"

"Well, I found that when I imbibed too much in the past, immersing myself into some cool water would help," he said. "Why don't you try going in the waterfall box?"

"It's called a shower," Felicity told him. "Will that actually work, or is it just a ploy to get me out of the way so you can run off and avoid the wrath of my father?"

"No, I mean it," Lucien insisted. "You don't have to try it if you don't believe me, but I think it would do you some good."

"Do you promise you won't come with me and try to get under the water too?" Felicity asked.

"No," Lucien shook his head. "I don't like cold bathing unless it's absolutely necessary for me. You'll be on your own for this one."

"Good," Felicity nodded. "And…thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," He nodded, gripping her hand again.

It was at that moment that Adrian chose to stomp back into the kitchen looking very perturbed.

"Have you returned to beat me again?" Lucien asked. "Should I get down on the floor and assume the position?"

"I should, for all that drinking you made her do," Lucien told him. "Did you let her go until she was agreeable and then make your move?"

"Actually, the drinking was my idea," Felicity assured him. "If that's what you're mad about, you shouldn't be."

"Oh, damn, really?" Adrian pouted. "I was really looking forward to a good kill."

"You mean Grandpa told you that you couldn't kill him?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "He wanted to save that honor for himself." He then gave Lucien a kick in the ribs for good measure and strode off whistling to himself as Lucien groaned on the floor.

Felicity looked down at him with pity. He lying there with a sheet tied around his waist, his face swelling, and his eyes black and blue. She knew it wouldn't last forever, but for the moment, he looked awful.

"Come on, get up," she said, helping him get to his feet. "We'll go put your clothes on again. That would be good."

"All right," Lucien nodded. "Good. That's good."

They got him dressed and then Felicity told Adrian that she was taking Lucien home, something that her father was more than happy to agree to.

"Well, aside from the beating and your father, I would say that wasn't a bad second date," Lucien got out as they drove. "How do we top it?"

"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. "We'll see."

* * *

"I think we need to have a talk," Victoria said to Samantha. "Don't you?"

"No," Samantha replied.

"I knew you would say that," Victoria told her. "You wanna tell me about that guy you had in your room?"

"No," Samantha shook her head. "Was that wrong? You didn't tell me that it was wrong. Do I not get a personal life if I live here?"

"Well, of course you can have one," Victoria nodded. "I would be an idiot to expect otherwise. But since you're only beginning to get your life on track after getting out of the asylum, do you think it's wise to jump into a wild sexual relationship? What if you get pregnant? It seems like you can hardly take care of yourself, much less a child."

"Oh, I'm very aware of that," Samantha nodded. "The guy I'm with is a made vampire. Pregnancy is impossible."

"Ah," Victoria nodded. "Okay. Carry on. But perhaps a bit more quietly in the future."

"All right," Samantha nodded. "Whatever."

But her interrogation from Victoria was nothing compared to what she experienced with Ian.

"You had a man over?" He cried. "I heard Victoria talking about it. And I heard the noises through the wall."

"I don't know what you're so pissed about," Samantha scoffed and pulled out a cigarette. "If you're mad that I have a guy in my bed at night and you don't, that's not my problem. If you want one, get one. It's not that hard."

"Fine," he spat. "I will. You'll see."

"Good," Samantha nodded. "I wish you the best of luck."

* * *

"Would you mind talking to your brother?" Amelia asked Selina. "He's been grieving Charlotte endlessly. And not that I think he shouldn't, but when he's spending every night at her grave, even in the rain…something has to be done. And I found a beer bottle in his waste basket too. I don't want him to fall in the family alcoholism trap."

"Yeah, neither do I," Selina agreed. "It's not a pretty thing. Although he's been alive for years without us knowing anything about him, so who knows? Maybe he _already_ drinks." She paused. "Where's he now?"

"Your uncle's keeping an eye on him," Amelia replied. "I think they went to a movie or something, but I don't know how much that will help."

"It's better than nothing," Selina replied. "I could use a distraction myself."

"Why?" Amelia asked. "Did something bad happen to you too?"

"No, Elijah's just frazzled," Selina replied. "His brother came back from nineteenth century with a mummy of a guy who could end vampire-kind as we know it, and now apparently, it's been stolen and he fears the worst. He and Klaus are out looking now."

The door opened and Selina winced as Elijah called out, "Damn him!" in a melodramatic fashion.

"Never mind," Selina sighed and sipped her tea. "He's back." She smiled as Elijah came into the kitchen. "No luck finding the mummy?" She asked.

"No," Elijah scoffed. "How can you tell? I wish my brother had never brought it back in the first place."

"Well, he did, and now we have to deal with it," Selina told him. "You might be worrying for nothing. The person who stole it could just be wanting to put it on exhibit for money or something and the theft has nothing to do with resurrecting him."

"Yes, but can we really take that chance?" Elijah asked. Then he saw Amelia. "I apologize for my outburst," he told her. "It's wonderful to see you. How are you?"

"Much better than you, apparently," Amelia replied. "Are you sure there's nothing we can do to help you?"

"No," Elijah sighed and sat down. "All we can do is wait for the axe to fall and hope it doesn't."

"There you go," Amelia said and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's a good attitude."

* * *

Meanwhile, the day out with Andrew had made Thomas really realize how worried his behavior was making people. He still felt sad about Charlotte, but he would try to find other, less extreme ways to deal with his grief. Just when he was trying to figure out what those would be, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said.

Davina opened the door and smiled at him. "Your father let me in. I hope you don't mind. Are you feeling any better?"

"Well," Thomas sneezed. "I don't think sleeping on top of Charlotte's grave did me any good. Not gonna do that again."

"I brought you some soup cause I thought you would be a little sick," Davina replied and placed the Tupperware container full of soup on his bedside table. "It's warm now, but if you need it warmer, let me know."

"Well, thank you," Thomas told her. "That's very nice of you."

"You're welcome," Davina smiled.

Then, to her dismay, he pulled a six pack of beer out from under the bed and cracked one open. "Can I get one for you too?" He asked.

Davina had never really drunk much before and she started to refuse, but then she realized that it would be a good way to keep watch over him. "All right, thank you," she told him. "I'll have one."

"Good girl," Thomas smiled. "I was hoping you would say that."

They sat down and drank, Thomas with gusto and Davina daintily from the bottle. Every time he finished one, Thomas would throw the bottle on the floor and crack open another one, and soon his hand was running up and down her thigh.

"I think you should stop drinking now," she told him. "Isn't there other stuff you could do instead?"

"Sure," Thomas replied and removed his shirt with a smirk. "I can think of a few things, especially now that you're here."

"You look very good without a shirt," Davina told him.

"Yeah, I do, don't I?" Thomas agreed with a grin. "Why don't you give me a kiss, hmmm? Or a little nibble?"

Davina sighed. "Oh, all right," she said and kissed him, knowing that it would probably go beyond that. It was a cautious kiss, which intensified slowly as he lay her down on the mattress. And when he began nibbling on her, that was okay too. He would give her blood to compensate. But then his hand crept under her panties.

"Oh, god!" She cried and zapped him into the wall, where he fell in a heap. "No!" She cried. "I won't do that with you when you're drunk. I won't!" She then put a spell on him that froze him in place, straightened up her clothes, and left the room, running into Selina along the way. "If you're wanting to talk to Thomas, he's a little occupied right now," she said. "But he'll be ready to talk in a few days."

"All right," Selina said, feeling confused. "Thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome," Davina told her firmly and slammed the door behind her.


	5. Some Things You Can't Take Back

**Warning: This chapter contains a sex scene that begins consensually and then gets violent, and although the woman gains the upper hand toward the end, it still ends with her in tears about it.**

"How was your visit at Victoria's the other day?" Selina asked the twins. "Did you enjoy meeting everyone?"

"With the exception of a particularly pesky waiter, I think it was nice enough," Stephanie replied. "I found people that I liked."

"For the millionth time, that guy was _not_ a waiter!" Drew said, his voice full of irritation. "He just wanted to be friends with you."

"Yeah," Samantha scoffed. "I bet he did. That's why I had to make it clear that I wasn't interested."

"And that's what you did," Drew nodded. "There's no way anyone could have mistaken what you were saying."

"Good," Stephanie smiled.

"I think we need to have a talk about being kind to people even if you don't like them," Selina told her.

"Oh, do we have to?" Stephanie scoffed. "Can't I just dislike people? Isn't that my right?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "But if they haven't done anything bad to you, you should at least be polite."

"Okay, fine," Stephanie huffed. "I'll be nice to every less-than-worthy, ridiculous person who wants to get on my good side to be polite."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Cause you never know. You might like them someday, even if you don't like them now."

"How do you know that?" Stephanie asked. "Are you just trying to get me to do what you want?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I felt the same way about your father when I first met him, and look at us now. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me."

"All right," Stephanie nodded, knowing that her father was her last way out of this. "I will."

"She's really something else, isn't she?" Drew observed to his mother as he sat down at the table in the dining room and watched her get out ingredients to make cookies. "Any way you think we'll be able to get her to abandon her princess attitude?"

"Well, I don't think there's any way that will work for certain," Selina told him. "I believe it's genetic."

"You mean she got it from Dad and I got my attitude from you?" Drew asked.

"Not necessarily," Selina shook her head. "Your grandma Amelia was like that before she and your uncle got together. She's much better than she used to be, but some of the attitude still lingers."

"Were _you_ ever like that?" Her son wanted to know.

"Well, I try not to be," Selina replied. "I was blessed with the calmer temperament naturally, but certain situations can trigger the spoiled side of my nature." She turned to face him. "Wanna crack the eggs for me?"

"Sure," Drew nodded, coming over to help her. "No problem. I can get them in the bowl this time."

"What?" Selina asked. "There's a time you didn't?"

"Do you seriously not remember our lives up to now like I do?" Drew asked in amazement.

"No," Selina shook her head and sighed. "I wish I could, though."

"You will someday," Drew nodded as he cracked the first egg into the bowl. "I just know it."

* * *

When Stephanie reached her father's office door, it was open a bit, which usually meant that people didn't have to knock before coming in, but she wanted to make sure before she did. "Are you busy, Daddy?" She called. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Elijah replied. "I'd love that."

So Stephanie went in and took the seat on the side of the desk opposite her father's. "I have a question," she told him.

"All right," Elijah leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Did you and Mom really not like each other when you first met? That's what she said."

"Yes, she's right," Elijah nodded and stood up. "When she first met me, she thought I was straitlaced, boring, and full of myself, and would doom her to a life of boredom and a level of domesticity that she would never be able to tolerate. When I first saw her, I thought she was childish, hedonistic, irresponsible, and lacking any sort of class or maturity. But the more time we spent with each other, the more that changed."

"So you made her be different," Stephanie nodded. "Okay."

"I didn't make her do anything," Elijah replied. " _No one_ can make your mother do anything she doesn't want to do. All I did was give her support and stability that had previously been lacking in her life and that brought out a different side of her that I appreciate but in no way demanded."

"Did she change you?" Stephanie asked. "Make you be another way?"

"Well, I admit that in my case, the adding of a more casual side to my personality wasn't as natural, but it makes your mother happy, and it's not like she makes me do it all the time. Only when I choose," Elijah told her. "And I have to admit that when I _do_ wear them, I find jeans to be very comfortable, even if they do make me look like a hoodlum."

"I bet they don't," Stephanie smiled. "I bet you look wonderful."

Elijah chuckled. "Well, that's what your mother seems to think and I don't think it would be wise to contradict her. Do you?"

"Well, it wouldn't do you any good if you did," Stephanie agreed, shaking out her dark hair. "So I don't see what the point would be."

* * *

"Well, hello!" Samantha greeted Thomas when she opened the door and saw him standing on the front step, holding flowers and looking like a kicked dog. "What can I do you for?"

"Is Davina home?" He asked. "I-I have to apologize to her for something horrible I've done."

"All right, have a seat," Samantha told him. "I'll go get her for you."

"Thank you," Thomas told her. "Thank you very much." He sat down on the sofa with the flowers, his hands shaking as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn't lead Davina to reject him again. To calm his nerves, he took out a small bottle of vodka and knocked it down. Unfortunately, Davina came in just as he was doing that.

"If you want to talk to me, you'll have to stop drinking," She told him firmly. "Do you remember? Or were you too drunk when I told you that?"

"No!" Thomas said quickly, dropping the bottle and swearing.

Davina began walking away, and Thomas went to grab her, the flowers abandoned on the sofa. "No!" He told her, squeezing her arms and forcing her to stare into his eyes. "I've come to apologize, and you're going to listen to my apology!"

"Okay, all right!" Davina cried as he shook her. "All right, I will! Just…just relax and let me go, okay? Please."

"All right," Thomas nodded and set her down, giving her the flowers. "I'm sorry about what happened between us the other day. It's not…not in my character to be so pushy and it was a big error in judgement."

"Well, thank you for coming to say something," she told him. "That was very nice of you. Anything else you'd like to say?"

"No," Thomas shook her head. "I don't know what else there would be."

"All right," She nodded and took his hand. "Come with me."

"I will," Thomas nodded, ideas beginning to form in his head. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Davina replied.

* * *

"I think you need to lie down," Davina told him as they made their way to her room. "You need to rest. I think you've had more of that alcohol than you meant to."

"We've played this game before," Thomas chuckled. "Remember how close we came to really getting to know each other last time?"

"Yes, I do," Davina told him. "And I can't do that with you now."

"Why?" Thomas asked, looking hurt. "Is there someone else? I'll prove I'm better than him!" He grabbed her, kissed her, and then held her at arms' length. "We have to do this," he told her. "It would make me much better."

Davina sighed. "Whatever will stop you from drinking, I'll do it. I'll feel better that way."

"Good," he said and pushed her on the bed, pulling her clothes off after he undressed himself, and he didn't waste time. He kissed a trail down her neck and gently sucked on her nipples before cupping each one of her breasts and giving it a squeeze, which made her cry out. Then, he swirled his tongue around her belly button and made a trail on her skin from her belly button to between her parted thighs, which he licked gently as she moaned and clutched the sides of the bed in her fists.

Just as her breathing was beginning to calm down, though, things changed. Thomas loomed over her, his eyes dark and angry, before he grabbed her in a rough manner and began pushing into her and pulling out again and again. It was very rough and Davina screamed for him to stop as tears streamed from her eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, she reached up and slapped him so hard that his head whipped to one side and his vision seemed to clear.

"Oh, my god," he said as he looked down at her. "What…what happened?" He wiped the tears from her eyes and shook his head. "What did I do to you?"

"Well," Davina replied, her voice shaking, "It's not exactly how I thought my first time would be, but it can't be changed, now can it?"

Thomas heard this and his stomach turned again. "Why didn't you tell me, Davina?" He asked. "Not that I'm blaming you for any of this, because it's entirely my fault, but I just…I wish I had known that it was your first time!" He got off her, put on his clothes without looking her in the eye, and left the room, leaving Davina to dress alone and then try to forget what just happened, although she knew she never would.

* * *

Just as Samantha lit a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth, there was a knock at her door. Thinking that it was Victoria, coming to be a bother, she quickly stuck the cigarette under her pillow and stuck her elbow on top of it in a pose of relaxation. "Come in," she said.

But then she saw that it was Davina, and she had tears in her eyes. It wasn't often that she felt sorry for anyone, but when she saw Davina cry, it welled up some sympathy in her. Samantha left her bed to come over and put her arms around the distraught girl. "What happened?" She asked. "You can tell me."

"Thomas and I just had sex," she said and sniffled. "It was my first time and it was awful! It started out so nice and then…then…Oh, god!" She buried her head in Samantha's shoulder.

"You want me to kill him?" Samantha asked as she rubbed Davina's back and tried to calm her. "I will."

"No," Davina shook her head and sniffled. "Just help me forget about it." She paused and stared at the pillow, which was now on fire. "And you better put that out."

"Oh, shit!" Samantha cried and ran over to put the flames out, leaving the formerly pristine pillow now charred in the middle. "All right," she said. "That's done. What do you wanna do now?"

"Let's go out," Davina decided. "I don't think I can be here anymore. At least not for a while."

"What do you say we get drunk and go buy stuff?" Samantha suggested.

"As long as we pay for it, that's all right with me," Davina told her.

"Oh, come on!" Samantha smiled as she led her out the door. "What fun would that be?"


	6. A Little Vengeance

**Warning: There is a scene of self-harm in this chapter.**

"Any luck finding the mummy, Elijah?" Klaus asked with a smirk. "With the big fuss you were making, I would expect you've been looking day and night."

"No," Elijah told him testily, already regretting making a visit to his brother's house and even wondering why he was bothering to take off his coat and hang it up. "I'll find it, though. It would take less time if you would help me. If not for the sake of all vampire kind, then because you lost a precious toy."

"I would, but how can we look if we have no idea who took the thing?" Klaus asked.

"I think it should be obvious who did it," Lucien replied, striding into the room and coming into the conversation without being invited. "You know that spirit that tried to take it before? I think it was her."

Elijah laughed at this. "A ghost?" He asked. "How in the world are we supposed to retrieve a mummy from a ghost?"

"I don't know," Lucien shrugged. "That's your problem, not mine, isn't it?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "And that's probably a good thing. I have no doubt you'd be more of a hindrance than a help."

"And don't worry," Lucien smiled. "I don't feel insulted about being left out of this even though I was there when the mummy was retrieved and you weren't. I can find other ways to entertain myself."

Klaus chuckled. "I'm sure you can. Just be careful of one particular way possibly getting you injured again."

"That's not going to be repeated," Lucien assured him.

"Why not?" Klaus asked. "Have you and Adrian reached a détente about your relationship with Felicity?"

Well, no," Lucien shook his head. "But I'm not allowing it to stop me. Thanks for your help with that, by the way. And you'll be pleased to know that I've recovered from what your son put me through."

"Good," Klaus smiled. "And there's a reason why I advised him to go after you. Sometimes, I feel he's too soft. It's good for him to occasionally have a change to vent all that rage he holds inside of himself."

"And I just happened to be the punching bag," Lucien nodded. "I see."

"Well, maybe that will make you think twice about how you treat my granddaughter," Klaus told him. "Now, if you have something else to do with yourself, go ahead and do it."

"Fine," Lucien replied. "But I really don't think you give Felicity enough credit. She could handle a man like me if she wanted to."

"Perhaps," Klaus nodded. "But given how her last relationship ended and it was with another one of my inner circle, I doubt she wants to repeat the experience with you. I know you think I'm being cruel, but I'm really trying to save you from a big disappointment."

"I don't think I need to be saved from it," Lucien told him. "I'll take the risk and see what happens. It could end up going well. Who knows?"

"All right," Klaus heaved a big sigh. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Later, he was surprised when he answered a knock on the door and saw Felicity on the other side. "Well, hello, there!" He greeted her with a bone-crunching hug that she did her best to squirm out of. "You came to visit me? How sweet!"

"You honestly think I came to visit _you_?" She asked and pushed him away so that he fell flat on his back. "Think of the other people that live here. I want to see _them_ more than _you_."

"Well, that's always the way, isn't it?" He grinned. "You get what you want from someone and then they never hear from you again. I'm just another notch on the bedpost, aren't I?"

"Am I supposed to feel bad for you when you feel the same way about me?" Felicity wanted to know before stepping over his body and leaving to go in search of Amy, or Klaus, or anyone who wasn't Lucien. He jogged behind her, though.

"If you're looking for Klausy or Amy, they're not here," he said. "They're looking for a lost mummy. But I would be _more_ than happy to entertain you until they come back."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Felicity replied. "If you hated my father's reaction to your 'entertaining' me, Grandpa's is _worse_ and do you really want that? I'm doing you a favor here!"

"Okay, but before you go…" He grabbed her and gave her a big kiss. "There," He said with a smile as she spat toward the floor. "See you later, Kitten. Oh, and when you were talking about doing me a favor protecting me from your grandfather, you sounded a lot like _him_ telling me that him keeping me away from _you_ was doing me a favor."

"He said that?" Felicity asked. "Really? Why?"

"Well, I don't know," Lucien shrugged. "Maybe he just thinks I'm too much for you to handle."

Felicity scoffed. "Well, he has no idea what he's saying! You may be an old vampire, but you're still made and I'm still tougher than you. I can handle you all I want! Screw him!"

"Are you really sure you want to do that, Kitten?" Lucien asked, a grin curving his lips. "I mean, he _is_ your grandfather, and he only wants what's best for you."

"Well, what's best for me is not to control my life!" Felicity proclaimed. "I've already gone through enough of that." She grabbed him, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him again.

"Wow, Kitten," he remarked as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along after her to the sofa. "How much did you have to drink before you came here?"

"I didn't have any," she said. "What would make you ask something like that?"

"Well, because…because you don't act this way with me!" Lucien cried.

"Do you want me to start, or not?" Felicity asked. "Cause if you do, stop complaining."

"All right," Lucien said, putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Whatever floats your boat."

"What the hell is going on here?" Klaus cried when he and Amy came in and saw them making out on the sofa.

"Sorry!" Felicity told him, pushing Lucien away. "We didn't hear you come in!"

"You don't have to worry," Amy assured her. "Whatever you're doing is your own business and not ours."

"How is it not our business?" Klaus asked.

"She's a mature, responsible adult," Amy told him. "She doesn't need us to mind her."

"She's not the one I'm worried about," Klaus told her.

"Well, if she can handle you, she sure can handle anything Lucien throws at her," Amy told him. "Have a little faith, would you?"

"Yeah," Felicity agreed, eyes narrowed. "You don't get to say who I date!"

"I've never once done that!" Klaus protested.

"Yeah, well…don't you start, either," Felicity told him. "Daddy's bad enough. I don't want to have to deal with you, too."

She then strode into the kitchen and Klaus said to Amy, "Well, that attitude is a bit uncalled for. If anyone else talked to me like that, they would be lacking a tongue or worse."

"I know," Amy nodded. "But in this case, do you really think that would help anything?"

"No," Klaus sighed, his hands balling into fists anyway. "Why can't any of the girls in my life date men that I can tolerate? Why must they always pick men to love that I despise?"

"Just think of it as a test of your character," Amy smiled and gave him a kiss. "You haven't killed any of them yet, so you've done very well. Let's just keep that pattern holding steady."

Klaus scoffed. "You just don't want him dead because you like him."

"Well, I do, but not in a romantic way!" Amy cried.

"Don't blame her," Lucien finally jumped in. "I—"

"Don't say a word," Klaus told him, his voice tight. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh, all right," Lucien sighed and went to sit back down. Felicity came in with a glass of soda and sat on the opposite sofa a few minutes later, the joy she got from shocking her grandfather having dissipated somewhat.

"Aren't you gonna sit next to me?" Lucien asked and patted the empty cushion beside him.

"Don't be so needy," Felicity told him, taking a swig from the glass. "It's not attractive."

"You know what else isn't attractive, kitten?" He snapped. "Not making up your mind and playing with people's feelings like they're a tennis ball."

"I didn't know you were so sensitive," Felicity told him. "What a shame."

"It's not really," Lucien told her. "I just realized I have somewhere else I need to be. Somewhere better than here."

"Good," Felicity nodded. "Enjoy yourself."

"See?" Klaus told Lucien quietly when he met him by the door. "I told you I was doing you a favor by getting you away from her."

"Yeah," Lucien nodded. "And lucky for you, it might be awhile before I press my case again."

"Still?" Klaus asked in amazement?"

"Yeah," Lucien nodded. "But next time, she won't be able to push me away so easily."

* * *

"Well, look who it is!" Stefan cried when he opened the boardinghouse door and ushered Samantha in. "So nice to know you're visiting and for once, I don't have to risk my life." He removed his shirt and unzipped his pants.

"What are you doing?" Samantha cried. "Zip up! I didn't come for that!"

"Well maybe not right away, but you will," Stefan told her and then zipped up with a sigh. "What _did_ you come for?"

"How good are you at killing?" She asked him. "That guy Davina likes got a bit too rough with her and made her cry. I want him to pay for it."

"And you're giving up a chance to finish him off yourself?" Stefan asked, circling her with a grin on his face. "Isn't that nice?"

"No, I'm still taking part," she told him. "I just thought it could be something to help our relationship branch out. If that's something you want, that is."

"Sure," Stefan nodded. "It would be my pleasure. Let's go."

* * *

"Hello, it's Davina. Leave your message at the beep, and I'll call you back. Bye." Thomas heard the beep, hung up, and dialed the answering machine again. He never intended to leave a message. He didn't feel he had that right. But that didn't mean he couldn't hear her voice.

Finally, it all became too much. He felt a lump in his throat and had to put his phone away. He then grabbed a knife that he had taken from the kitchen and used it to make little cuts in his arms that quickly healed before he made other cuts. He did this because he felt he deserved pain and punishment after how he'd hurt Davina.

Then, he put the knife down and went to go talk to Andrew. "I-I have something I need to get off my chest," he told him. "Something bad that I've done."

"All right," Andrew nodded. "What is it? I'm sure we can deal with it, whatever it is."

"Not really," Thomas shook his head. "You know that girl I brought home, Davina?"

"Yes," Andrew smiled. "I liked her. You should bring her over again."

"Now I don't think that will happen," Thomas sighed. "The other day, she and I were in bed together. It started out all right, but then I got overtaken by grief and drink and I…I overstepped my boundaries. I hurt her. When I left, she was crying." He stood up and went to get his things before Andrew had a chance to reply. "You probably think I'm some sort of monster. I won't abuse your hospitality anymore."

Andrew quickly ran over and grabbed his arm. "Stop, please," he said. "You're not a monster. I mean, what you did isn't good, but…but you wouldn't do it again, would you?"

"No!" Thomas shook his head. "Of course not!"

"Come here and sit down," Andrew urged. "You haven't been part of the family very long, so your mother and I haven't had time to tell you everything we should have. But we will now."

He went and got Amelia, and then, without looking at her, Thomas repeated what he'd done to Davina. "I've felt horrible since Charlotte died," he finished. "It's been making me drink a lot more. I've been sad, I've been angry. I've felt every emotion more deeply than I've ever felt them. And this was just the damn cherry on the sundae."

"I know it's hard," Amelia replied and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "I know it hurts."

"It does," Thomas nodded. "I took a knife from the kitchen and I've been hurting myself."

"I've done that," Amelia said. "Does it really help you, do you think?"

"No," Thomas shook his head. "But it's what I deserve, isn't it?"

"No, it's not!" Amelia shook her head. "Thanks to me, you have werewolf blood. That makes you emotional. It makes you quicker to anger, makes it harder to keep your emotions in check unless you really try. Is that what you felt before you did what you did to Davina? Just a big rush of emotions that seemed too hard to control?"

"Yes," Thomas nodded. "But that's not an excuse."

"I know it's not," Amelia nodded. "It's an explanation, though."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Amelia said and got up. She went to the door and opened it, seeing Davina on the other side. "Can I talk to Thomas, please?" She asked.

"Sure," Amelia told her. "Would you like to come in? He's awfully sorry for what he did to you."

"I know he is," Davina nodded, but her voice sounded flat and mechanical. "That's what I want to talk to him about. But it has to be out here. It can't be inside."

"All right," Amelia nodded. "I'll go get him."

Thomas was more than happy to go outside and meet Davina, and was even _more_ pleased when she offered to forgive him for what he'd done. "I know you didn't mean it," she said. "And you seem genuinely regretful. So…maybe if we start slow and take a long time before we're intimate again, we can make it work."

"Oh, I'm sure we can," Thomas nodded and gave her a kiss.

But it was during this kiss that he felt someone grab him from behind and drench him with water that made every inch of his skin burn. He knew it wasn't from the sun because after he'd turned, the man who had made him told him about special rings that were needed to protect a vampire from the sun and had one made for him. It was while he was writhing in pain from the water that he was thrown on the ground and the woman he recognized as Davina's friend hit him with a spell that made his head fill with pain. He clutched it and fell to the ground again where he was punched repeatedly in the gut and then stabbed with a knife. This made him hiss, his fangs bared. But since Davina was looking, he did the best he could to try not to attack either of the people who were hurting him. He had to show her that he wasn't a monster.

"Why isn't he dying?" Samantha cried.

"Well, he's a vampire," Stefan told her. "I know what to do!" He went to the car and grabbed some wood, preparing to bury it in Thomas' heart when Davina shielded Thomas from Stefan's view.

"Don't!" She cried. "You said that you were gonna beat him up. You didn't say you were gonna kill him."

"Move aside," Samantha told her curtly. "You remember that this is the man who raped you, right?"

"Yes, but…I don't think that gives you the right to kill him," Davina told her. "Don't. If you want to punish him for what he did, let him live with his guilt. That'll be worse for him."

"Fine," Samantha sighed. Then she came over to stare down at Thomas. "She's way too good for you, you know. You don't deserve her."

"No," Thomas said weakly. "You're right. I don't."

After Samantha had gone, Davina got down on her knees besides Thomas' body. "Just because I saved you doesn't mean I'm ready to be with you yet," she told him. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Thomas nodded. "I do. I'm…I'm really sorry for what I did."

"I know you are," Davina nodded. "And that's why, if you give me time, I'll be able to give our relationship another shot."

"You will?" Thomas smiled. "That makes me happy."

"And…and I'm sorry for my part in this," Davina apologized. "They said they were just gonna beat you up a little, and I was mad enough that I agreed to be the lure. I had no idea Stefan was gonna bring the stake out."

"You know, I was kind of glad he did," Thomas gave her a small smile. "At least until you stopped them."

"You don't wanna die," she told him. "Not yet."

"No," Thomas told her as she helped him up and took him to the front door. "Not yet."

"Can you get inside yourself?" She asked. "Or do you need me to help you?"

"No, I can do it," He told her. "Thanks, though."

"You're welcome," Davina replied, turning to leave. "Take care of yourself."

"Yeah," Thomas nodded as he put a hand on the doorknob to turn it. "You too."

Then she disappeared, and he went inside, feeling much better as he shut the door behind him.


	7. Just Having A Little Fun

"Are you okay?" Selina asked Thomas. "Sounds like you went through a lot the other day." Amelia had suggested he talk to her. He was doubtful that a conversation with his sister would do any good, but he'd try anything at this point.

"Well, it's not like I didn't deserve it after what I did to Davina," Thomas replied. "What kind of a good person does that to people? I don't think she'll ever be able to forgive me."

"All right," Selina told him, sitting down. "I don't tell a lot of people this story, cause it's not something I like to think about, but…the guy who turned me and put me through all sorts of misery that I try to forget to this day wasn't always like that. He was a good man. A very good man. He was the same man who delivered you. Who saved Mama every time she would have an attack of melancholy and hurt herself. And who once looked me in the eye and told me that I had every right to fight for my own life and that I shouldn't just sit back and let a man hurt me because I was a woman. So it was very odd behavior when he suddenly decided to take away my baby, turn me into a vampire, rape me, and then sic me on innocent people so I would become a killer."

"He did all that to you?" Thomas asked. "What…how horrible!"

"He was under a spell," Selina said. "A witch put a spell on him so that he would occupy me and then they could mess with my fiancé for their own purposes and I wouldn't get in the way. I admit that it took me some time to be able to forgive him for what happened. But since…but since it wasn't anything he consciously chose to do, and I have so many other memories that show that fact, that show how good he truly was, I've been able to forgive him. And I think…I think that Davina will be able to do it with you."

'Well, I have no reason to doubt you," Thomas told her. "I hope you're right."

"I hope I am too," Selina replied. "You want a Coke? Or some coffee or tea? I know not to offer you a drink."

"Exactly," Thomas nodded. "I'm holding off on that for a while. Maybe forever. Coffee would be nice, though. With a little bit of sugar and a little bit of milk."

"All right," Selina told her brother. "Coming right up."

* * *

"I can't believe you're still mad at us," Samantha said from the seat at the table in the bar next to Davina. She was sitting on Stefan's lap and he was nuzzling her neck as Davina looked on, feeling disgusted. "What did we do wrong?"

"I told you," Davina scowled. "You didn't have any right to hurt him like you did. That makes us no better than him."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Samantha rolled her eyes. Then she kissed Stefan. "You've told us this like five million times. We were just trying to help you." She then told Stefan, "Hey, I'm gonna go get a drink. You want something?"

"Sure," Stefan nodded with a grin. "Why not?" He let her up from his lap and gave her a spank before she walked up to the bar.

Davina put both her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her arms. "I'm having a much better time than I did the last time I was here," She told Stefan.

"Yeah, I bet you are," Stefan replied. "You don't really forget sneaking in here and getting beaten up, do you?"

"It wasn't fair," Davina pouted. "I didn't come here to cause trouble. I just…I just came in for some help fixing my car."

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "I know. They really overreact sometimes, don't they?" Then Vince came over to the table and put a drink in front of Davina.

"Where'd this come from?" She asked. "I didn't order anything."

"I know, but…consider it compliments of the house," Vince replied. "An apology for what happened last time you were here. Unless you don't want it. Then I'll take it back."

"Oh, no!" Davina shook her head and brought the glass toward her, taking a swig. "I'd never turn down a free drink. How did you know what I like?"

"Your friend Samantha told us," Vince smiled. "Enjoy."

"That's weird," Davina told Stefan. "Why would they want to just give me a free drink?"

"I wouldn't knock it if I were you," Stefan advised her. "Just accept it."

"I am," Davina replied with a smile.

When Samantha returned, Davina paused drinking and asked her if she knew more about the free drink. "Why would they want to apologize to me?"

"I don't know," Samantha shrugged. "You'll have to ask them." She then smiled at Stefan. "I'm hungry. You wanna get me some cheese fries?"

"Hell, I'll get you that and a burger if you want," he smiled. "Although I really want to cook you dinner sometime."

"You can cook?" Samantha smiled. "Really? I wanna see that."

"You will," he told her. "Just name the date."

"Good for you for going on an actual date with Stefan," Davina smiled. "You guys just might end up having a reasonably normal, affectionate relationship after all."

"Yeah, but…don't tell Victoria," Samantha requested. "If she hears, she's gonna make a big deal about it and it's not necessary."

"All right," Davina nodded. "She won't hear it from me." She finished her drink and to her surprise, Vince brought her another one. "More apologies?" She asked.

"Not this time," Vince replied, tilting his head in the direction of three guys, all with light hair and baby faces, who were sitting at a table near hers and waving. "Looks like you have some admirers."

"Oh," Davina smiled and took a swig from the second drink. "I'll take it. How sweet." Then she choked when she saw who came into the bar next.

"What?" Samantha asked. "Are you okay?"

"Thomas," she said when she could talk again. "Thomas just walked in!" She stood up and strode over to the table where her admirers were sitting. They readily made a space for her, and then she laughed loudly as if they were saying something funny.

It caught Thomas' eye almost immediately. He locked eyes with her and she thought he'd be mad, but despite his hands balling into fists, he just closed his eyes, shook his head, and made his way to the bar, making an effort to ignore her, even though he kept sneaking looks at the table where she was.

Finally, he strode over to the table, cleared his throat, and said, "Hello, Davina. Nice to see you're doing well."

"Yeah, I am," she nodded with a smile. "Glad to see you noticed. I hope you're having a good time yourself."

"I am," he nodded. "Goodbye."

He then gulped down the rest of his drink, paid for it, and then left, slamming the door behind him as Davina breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

"How were things at the bar?" Amelia asked as Thomas stomped into his parents' house. "Not good, I see."

"No," Thomas huffed. "Davina was there, drinking with a table full of guys."

"Well, and why wouldn't she?" Andrew asked. "She's a very beautiful girl. And I thought that after what happened, you wanted to stay away from her for a bit."

"I do!" Thomas nodded. "Cause I don't want to hurt her again. And yes, since she's so beautiful, it would be wrong for me to expect her to be alone all that time. I know it. I know it. But still! I want her to be happy with _me!_ Not a bar full of men who only pay attention to her and buy her drinks so they can get into her pants for the night. I'm the one who really cares about her. She's my girl."

"I'm sure she'll realize that after a time and that you're the right one for her," Amelia tried to reassure him. "Sometimes a person has to be with a bunch of the wrong people before they realize who the right one is. And it can be a pain, especially when your feelings are so strong."

"I know that," Thomas sighed. "I just wish it didn't take so long." He then looked at his parents who were smiling at him, and blushed. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to bore you with all this. I-I-I'm going to my room."

"All right," Amelia smiled. "See you later, Thomas."

* * *

The next day, Amelia went to the grocery store and, by chance, bumped into Davina. Wanting to take advantage of the opportunity while she had it, she said to her, "Hello."

"Hello," Davina smiled and reached in her cart to eat a grape. "You're Thomas' mother, right?"

"Right," Amelia nodded. "I wanted to ask you about him."

"Can I go first?" Davina wanted to know. "I saw him at Roxie's yesterday. How is he?"

"Fine," Amelia nodded. "Still upset by what happened between the two of you, I mean, but he's working through it. But when he saw you with those other guys, it made him angry. He came home and he told his father and me that while he's glad you're happy, he wishes that you were happy with him instead. He says you're his girl. Did you know that?"

Davina heard this, and her jaw dropped, color invading her cheeks. She began shoving grapes in her mouth in a nervous manner until both her cheeks were puffed out. She paused, chewed, and slowly swallowed, then said, "did he really say that I was his girl? What do you think he meant by that?"

"I don't know," Amelia smiled and began pushing her cart away. "What do you think?"

* * *

"Any luck with finding the mummy, you two?" Selina asked, leisurely striding into Elijah's office, where he and Elijah were drinking and trying to brainstorm ideas about where the mummy had gone.

"No," Klaus told her. "We're giving up. The mummy is gone."

"And it's all your fault!" Elijah cried. "You should have been watching it more closely."

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's damn impossible to stop a ghost!" Klaus replied testily.

They then began to fight with each other, and when Elijah sent Klaus flying into the wall with enough force that it made a hole, that was when Selina stepped in.

"All right, all right," she yelled. "Enough! You both need to calm down. Klaus, go home to Amy. Elijah, why don't you go to our room?"

"I don't want to," Elijah replied. "You can't send me to my room. You're not my mother." His voice slurred a little, and Selina took his hand, leading him out of the room while saying to Klaus over her shoulder, "You can see yourself out, right? Tell Amy I say 'Hello'."

When they got to the bedroom and Selina shut the door behind them, Elijah grinned. "Are we going to bed?" He asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "You are." She undressed him so that he was just in his boxers and then asked him to get on his stomach on the bed. She then massaged his back and neck and soon, he was asleep. She kissed his cheek, tucked him in, then turned off his lights and shut the door behind her so he could have a well-deserved nap.


	8. We Go Together

"I have a suggestion for you," Klaus told Lucien. "To help you get over Felicity."

"'Get over'?" Lucien repeated. "You're talking like I'm gonna give up on her because that's what you're hoping. But I'm not giving up."

"Try dialing this number anyway," Klaus told him. "You'll like the person on the other side."

"Is this the number of a brothel?" Lucien asked. "I'm really surprised at you, Klausy. You have Amy. Why would you need to be at a place like this?"

"It's not a number for a brothel," Klaus told him. "It's the number of a woman who likes to have a good time. Give her a shot. You won't regret it."

"Oh, all right," Lucien sighed. "But I'm still not giving up on Felicity. You know that, right?"

"Whatever you want," Klaus shrugged. "It's not like I can stop you."

"It's good that you realize that," Lucien told him. He went to give the number a call. The woman on the other end, who introduced herself as Renee, sounded very interesting. They agreed to meet at Roxie's and then she would get him in and they could talk, or do anything else they felt like doing. Lucien grinned at this. He couldn't wait to see the look on Felicity's face when she saw them.

* * *

When he reached the bar, Lucien was very pleased to recognize Felicity's car in the parking lot. It would be a lot easier to pull off the little trick with Felicity present than it would if she wasn't. In the latter case, there would be no point. He parked and waited for Renee to show up in her silver convertible. When she showed up, he got out of his car and went to greet her.

"Hi," he said with a smile. "You must be Renee. I'm Lucien, nice to meet you."

When she got a good look at him, her brown eyes widened. "You really _aren't_ a werewolf, are you? When you said that you needed me with you to get in, I thought you were just saying that as an excuse to come in with me."

"I can't say it's not a plus that I get to come in with such a pretty woman on my arm," Lucien smiled. "But I don't have any werewolf blood in me. Is that a problem?"

"No," Renee shook her head. "I've just never been with anyone who doesn't have werewolf blood. It'll be a new experience for me."

"Well, I'll be sure to make it worth your while," Lucien promised. He then took her arm and they walked into the bar together, ordered drinks, and sat down at her usual table to chat.

Felicity left the pool room to get a refill of her drink when she noticed Lucien sitting at Renee Sharp's usual booth. She was sitting opposite him and they were laughing, holding hands, and nuzzling each other.

"What's Lucien doing at Renee's table?" She asked. "Not that I care. It makes sense that he would gravitate toward her."

"So you don't mind?" Roxie asked. "You did all that to get him in and now he's nosing around someone else."

"Oh, of course I don't," she shrugged. "Can I have a refill, please? And make it a double this time."

"Sure," Roxie nodded. She poured her niece a double vodka and cranberry juice and then watched with amusement as Felicity turned her bar stool around and watched Lucien while she drank, until, when she was on her last mouthful she hopped off the bar stool, strode over to the table, spit what she had in her mouth in Lucien's face, and tossed the glass of ice in Renee's lap before striding back to the pool room.

He immediately removed his hands from Renee's body (where they'd been making quite the exploration) and ran in the direction he'd seen Felicity go after promising Renee he'd be back.

When he finally reached the pool room, he had to stop for breath. Then he came up behind her and put his hands around her and tried to kiss her, but got an elbow in the nose for his efforts.

"Damn!" He cried. "What in the hell is wrong with you?"

"How dare you feel up Renee and then try and do the same to me!" She cried. "It's not fair to either of us, is it? Make up your damn mind!"

"So you _are_ jealous!" Lucien smiled. "I hoped you would be."

She scoffed and gave him a push. "There's a difference between jealous and pissed off. Learn it! And go back to Renee before I kill you. It's not nice to leave a date sitting alone."

"Fine," Lucien replied and put up his hands. "Whatever."

"Enjoy your date," Felicity snapped.

"All right," He told her. "I will. See you later, Kitten."

"No, you won't," Felicity scoffed. "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Adrian decided to go out with Kai that night and as soon as they were gone, Felicity heard a knock on the door. Felicity went to open it and growled when she saw who was on the other side. She opened the door and launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground. "What did you come here for?" She asked, bringing her head down so they were practically nose to nose. "I hope it was to apologize for what you did today. That's the only reason I accept for you showing your stupid face here!"

"What was it that I did?" Lucien smiled. "Oh, you mean that lovely lady at the bar? The one that upset you to see me with? Her?"

"Yes, her!" Felicity nodded and punched him in the nose. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I wanted to be with someone who's much more giving than you," Lucien replied. "Your grandfather agrees with me. He gave me her number in the first place."

"He did?" Felicity asked.

"Yes," Lucien nodded. "I didn't think it would make you jealous. That's a nice twist. I mean, I _hoped_ it would make you jealous, but I wasn't expecting it to."

"I hate you," Felicity said, and then kissed him before finally getting up and going into the house, while leaving the door open. Lucien assumed that was so he could follow her, did so, and shut the door behind him.

"Why are you following me?" She asked when they were on the stairs and she finally turned around. "I never said you could follow me."

"Well, I assumed that when you left the door open after coming in, that meant I could come in too," Lucien told her, staring up at her from a few steps below. "That's what leaving a door open usually means."

"Fine, whatever," Felicity sighed. "Stay if you want. I don't care."

"That's very generous of you," Lucien replied, climbing to the step just below her and taking her in his arms to give her a kiss.

"No," she said, putting a finger on his lips. "I won't let you kiss me without an apology for what you did today."

"Why should I apologize?" Lucien asked. "What have I done wrong? You clearly have no interest in me, so I moved on. You told me that I had to make up my mind about whether I liked you or Renee. Now how about you make up your mind whether you want a relationship with me or not? I don't think that's too much to ask."

"Fine," Felicity sighed. "But when I decide, you're not allowed to gloat."

"All right," Lucien promised, a grin on his lips.

"I admit that when I saw you with Renee, I was…I was a bit jealous," Felicity told him, reaching out and stroking his arm. "I wanted you all to myself. I'm not very good at sharing." She locked eyes with him. "You won't make me share, will you? That's the only way this is gonna work."

"No, Kitten," Lucien shook his head, a smile curving his lips as he took one hand from her waist to play with her curly blonde hair. "I wouldn't dream of it." Then, he slowly leaned forward and his lips touched hers as he pulled her as close to him as he possibly could before picking her up and carrying her up the stairs the rest of the way. When they reached her room, he put her down on the floor and closed the door and then came back to her with a smile on his face.

"Do I have to ask what we're doing here?" Felicity said, eyebrow raised.

"No," Lucien shook his head. "I should hope not, considering that we've done it once before."

"We did, didn't we?" Felicity nodded. "But no alcohol this time. At least not until after."

"All right," Lucien nodded and moved her shirt a little so he could kiss her neck and shoulder.

"You…you don't waste time, do you?" Felicity asked, and then gave a moan."

"No," Lucien shook his head. "I really don't see the point." He helped her slide off her shirt and then said, as he stared at her bra, "I hate to spoil the mood, but I forgot how you remove one of these."

"Don't worry," Felicity smiled at him, then reached behind her back, unhooking her bra and throwing it at his feet. "I know how to do it. See?"

"Yes," Lucien nodded, his eyes locked on her body for a moment before he pulled her to himself again and slid his hand up her thigh, hiking up her skirt in the process. She slipped that off too and kicked it aside.

"Don't tell me you need help removing my panties too," she whispered. "You can do that on your own, right?"

"Yes," Lucien nodded, his breathing picking up. "I can."

She climbed on the bed then and said, "I think you have some undressing to do, sir."

Lucien looked down at his fully-clothed body and nodded. "Yes," he said and quickly removed his shirt and undid his pants, kicking them aside as she had. There," he said, standing naked at her bedside. "Is that better?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded as he climbed in bed beside her and she threw her arms around him. "You can join me now."

He kissed her and pushed her back onto the mattress with the force of his body, running his hand over her stomach and inner thighs before slipping a finger inside her. She moaned and nibbled on his neck, licking the blood up gently, becoming just as aroused as he could fell she was.

Her hips began to buck forward and he quickly removed his finger and buried himself inside her with a deep thrust instead.

"Oh!" She cried, her eyes widening as he laughed. "Are you all right, Kitten?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine."

After a few more thrusts, they paused for breath, lying beside each other, their bodies warm and covered with sweat.

"That…that was fun," Felicity got out.

"Good," Lucien panted and gave her a spank on the bottom. "Glad you enjoyed yourself." He paused. "Would this be a bad time to ask if you took your pill this morning?"

"What?" Felicity asked, turning to face him. "What did you just ask me?"

"Are you the sort of person who has sex without protection?" Lucien wanted to know.

"If I know I'll need it, I take it, but since I've only gone out with made vampires, I've stopped," Felicity admitted. "Are you saying that it's possible for you to father children? I thought made vampires couldn't do that as a rule."

"Well, that little rule was made after me," Lucien replied. "I'm sorry. I should have said something."

"Damn right you should have!" Felicity yelled. She got out of bed and ran around looking for her clothes. "Why did you not mention this to me until after we were done? You should have said something before!"

"I know I should have, and I'm sorry!" Lucien apologized again. "I just…Amy told me about making sure of things like that, but it's still something that's not a habit for me. Remember where I came from."

"Oh, right," Felicity nodded. "Sometimes I forget that you came from a time where reliable birth control for women wasn't a thing. No matter. I'll go get some normal pills along with the one that will end anything that might start as a result of what we did."

"I'm sure you'll be all right," he told her. "But if something happens, would that be so bad? Think about it: You, me, a little Lucien Jr…." he got a far off look in his eyes.

"If that happens, it'll be a _long_ time from now," Felicity said. "When Grandpa, Dad, and I have had sufficient time to mentally prepare."

"So there's a possibility for that?" Lucien asked. "Really?"

"Maybe," Felicity nodded. "Just don't get too eager too quickly. And I'd be gone soon if I were you. I don't know when Dad is coming back."

"All right," Lucien nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

As Lucien and Felicity were working on getting together, so were Thomas and Davina.

"Hey," she said when she found him on his usual bench in the park. "Did you really tell your mother that I was your girl? Or did she just make that up to bring us together again?"

"Yeah," Thomas nodded, blushing and not meeting her eyes. "I might have said that, even though I have no right."

"Well, I think it's kind of sweet," Davina told him.

"You shouldn't, after what I did," Thomas told her. "You should go back to the men who bought you drinks at Roxie's and never think of me again."

"Part of me wishes I could do that, but it's not that easy," Davina told him. "You know how you probably always wondered why I'd show up wherever you were? I just…I had this need, you know? This need to be near you. To hear you speak. To see the look in your eyes and feel the touch of your skin. I know that probably sounds crazy and weird, but…I honestly don't think that what happened before will happen again. Do you?"

"No," Thomas shook his head. "I don't want it to, anyway. And now…now that Charlotte's gone, I…I feel the same way about you. I need you. No one else is any good for me."

Davina smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. "Well, now that we've established that, what do we do?"

"Well, I think it would be best to hold off on intimacy for a while, don't you?" Thomas asked. "We can do lunch, we can go to movies or concerts, or whatever. But until we establish that kind of intimacy and are sure that we're both on the same page, we won't go to bed." He sighed. "It will be hard, but I think that's what needs to be done. Do you agree?"

"Yeah," Davina nodded. "I think I do." She paused. "I have a question, since you must know how things work at Roxie's better than I do. Is it normal for them to attack a person one time they go there and apologize and give them a free drink the next time?"

"Not that I know of," Thomas shook his head. "Once you're on the attack list, that's it."

"And yet they apologized to me," Davina shrugged. "I don't know what that means, but I'll go with it."

"I would if I were you," Thomas nodded. "It's a good thing. It means we can go there together sometimes."

"Yeah," Davina nodded. "I think I would like that. Much better than just going with Samantha and Stefan. I won't have to feel like a third wheel."

"I hate feeling like that," Thomas agreed, thinking of his parents. He liked that they were in love, but sometimes it was too much.

"You doing anything now?" She asked, standing up and holding out her hand. "I'm hungry. I was thinking of going to eat."

Thomas put a marker in his book and stuck in the bag he had with him. "Sounds good," he said, putting it over his shoulder and taking her hand. "Let's go."


	9. Just So We're Prepared

"Do you ever get the urge to just grab Elijah, throw him down on the floor, and kiss him really deeply?" Amelia asked Selina as they sat in the living room, drinking coffee.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I do. All the time. I hope you and Uncle Andrew aren't making poor Thomas uncomfortable, though."

"I don't think we are," Amelia shook her head. "He's asked us to be with him when he and Davina have a movie date tonight." She smiled. "I don't know what you did to give Thomas hope, but…thank you."

"I just…I told him about what happened between Doctor Stensrund and me and how I'm still able to remember the good as well as the bad," Selina shrugged. "I think that helped."

At that moment, Drew came in. "Sorry if I'm interrupting," he said. "I was thinking of making up some dinner. Should I wait for Dad?"

"No, I don't think so," Selina shook her head. "He's out and about looking for that mummy and I have no idea when he'll come back." She paused. "Where did you learn to cook?"

" _You_ taught me," Drew told her. "You got me a play kitchen when I was a toddler and it progressed from there."

"I did?" Selina sighed. "I wish I could remember."

"Well, maybe I can show you," Drew told her and took her hand, trying to transmit images of toddler him and Selina playing at "cooking" plastic food in his play kitchen. "Are you seeing anything?"

"Yes!" Selina replied, wanting to melt into a little puddle at the sight of the cute brown-haired toddler who wore brown corduroy pants, loafers, and a red polo. "Did your father dress you?"

"No, you did," Drew replied. "But I seem to have gotten Dad's fashion sense."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay."

"Do you…do you remember what I showed you actually happening?" Drew asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "Sorry, I don't. I wish I did, though. It seems like we had a really good time."

"Yeah," Drew nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. "We did. So…food?"

"I could use an egg if you're willing," Selina nodded.

"All right." Drew looked at Amelia. "Grandma, what about you?"

"Sure," Amelia nodded. "An egg or whatever would be great. I don't cook very often myself. That's usually Andrew's job."

"You want us to help you learn if you don't know how?" Drew offered.

"I don't know," Amelia replied, looking a little uncertain. "I would love to, but…"

"Granny Lockwood died years ago," Selina reminded her mother. "She's not gonna rise from the grave and haunt you just because you're learning how to do something for yourself that only servants and other people have done for you before."

"You don't remember your grandmother very well, do you?" Amelia asked her. "She very well could. Think of how you felt about me prior to our getting along and multiple that by a million, and then you'll know how I feel about your grandmother."

"Well, I can't really blame you for feeling that way," Selina sighed. "I don't really remember anyone in your family being all that warm and fuzzy toward me."

They lapsed into awkward silence and sipped their coffee while Drew made eggs and bacon and then set their plates down in front of them. "Enjoy," he smiled.

"Thank you," Selina told him. "But I hope you made some for yourself too because this was your idea."

"Yeah, I did," Drew nodded. "Don't worry about me."

He had just finished making his own plate when Stephanie came back from the mall and snatched it away, taking it to the table. "It's so nice of you to make me food when I came back from a very hard day of shopping," she told him and stuck the fork in her eggs. "But I don't like my eggs fried. Drew, you know I like them scrambled!"

"Yes, I do know that," Drew told her and came to snatch the plate back. "Which is why these are mine and not yours. If you want something, you'll have to make it yourself."

"Oh, so everyone else gets to have food made for them and I don't?" Stephanie cried. "Well, that's not very generous of you."

"Well, you were late, and that's not my fault," Drew told her. "Now, don't you have some clothes to try on or something?"

"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do." She then got up, turned on her heel and stomped off.

"You handle her very well," Selina remarked. "Good for you."

"Well, when you've been fighting with someone for space and resources practically your whole existence, you have to learn to stand up for yourself," Drew shrugged. "I don't feel bad about it at all."

"You shouldn't," Amelia told him and gingerly took a bite of bacon. Then her eyes widened. "This is very good!" She praised. "As good as Andrew's!"

"And that's a compliment coming from her," Selina smiled at her son. "She thinks the sun rises and sets on what Uncle Andrew does."

"And what's so bad about appreciating the person you're married to?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not saying there's anything bad about it," Selina told her. "I'm just making an observation."

"Oh," Amelia nodded. "Sorry."

It was then that they heard a knock on the door. Selina opened it and saw Klaus and Amy holding up Elijah as they brought him into the house and sat him down on a chair.

"My god," Selina said and stood up. "What the hell happened to him? Has he been drinking?"

"Yes," Amy nodded. "We heard from Malachai that the Phoenix has assumed human form. He's on the loose now and there's nothing to do but guard ourselves and prepare to fight."

Elijah then put his head in his hands and began to moan. "We're going to die," he said over and over. "We're going to die."

"Hey," Selina said, bringing his head up so they were looking at each other. "We're not gonna die, all right? It's gonna be fine."

"You think?" He asked.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "What good is it gonna do us to think any other way? Now stand up, take a deep breath, have a drink, and think up a plan what to do next. Sitting and moping isn't gonna do us any good."

"You know, you're right," Elijah nodded and slowly rose. He got some blood out of the fridge, downed much more in one go than Selina was used to seeing him consume, and then, with blood still on his mouth, turned on his heel and headed in the direction of his office.

"Maybe you should go with him," Amy told Klaus. "You think?"

"Yeah, I do," Klaus nodded. "I need to see what he does with all that blood in his system."

"I bet you do," Amy nodded, then sat down with a smile as Selina introduced her to Amelia.

* * *

"All right," Davina yawned as she went to turn off the TV later that night. "That was _some_ movie, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Thomas nodded. "It really was." He looked at the clock. "It's late. I should probably be taking you back home."

"Oh, no," Amelia cried. She and Andrew had been watching the movie too, at Thomas' request, just as she'd told Selina. "Why don't you stay here? You can call your parents so you don't have to be out at this time of night. Let me go fix up your room."

Amelia went to do that while Davina sat back down next to Thomas on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sorry," she apologized. "I hope this doesn't bother you."

"No," Thomas shook his head. "It's fine."

Andrew smiled and dimmed the lights, then went to tell Amelia that she wouldn't need to make up the bed, and then leading her into the living room to show her why.

"No point in moving them now," He remarked, seeing the pair asleep on the couch with their hands held tight together. "We might wake them up."

Amelia just put a quilt over them and then she and Andrew headed to bed themselves, giggling to each other as they talked about the kids asleep downstairs and how sweet it all was.

* * *

The next morning, Davina woke up with the smell of the detergent used on Thomas' shirt filling her nose as she waited for a few seconds before sitting up. She smiled at Thomas, who looked very innocent when asleep, and leaned down to kiss his cheek before getting up from the sofa, only to be pulled down to sit a few seconds later when Thomas cracked open an eye and grabbed her hand.

"Well, we made it through the night," he said. "And we're still dressed. That deserves praise, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Davina nodded. "I think it's remarkable. You want coffee?"

"Yes, but I'm the host," Thomas said and rose to his feet. "I should be getting it for _you_."

"All right," Davina nodded. "Milk and a little sugar, please."

It was while the coffee was being made that a very unperturbed Andrew came into the living room, smiling broadly. "Amelia wants doughnuts," He told them. "Since I'm getting some, what kind do you two want?"

"I would like a jelly-filled one, please," Thomas requested.

"Chocolate-frosted for me," Davina added. "Thank you, Mr. Warren."

"You're welcome," Andrew told her. "But please, I beg of you, call me by my first name. I don't mind. We're all friends here."

"All right…Andrew," she got out.

Andrew smiled. "Thank you. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Once he was gone, Davina's phone rang. "Hello," she said, putting it to her ear.

"Davina?" Victoria's voice sounded. "Where in the world are you? Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes!" Davina replied, blushing furiously. "I meant to call you and tell you that I was staying the night at Thomas', but things ended so late and I was so tired that I forgot. I'll be home after breakfast, I promise."

"No, no, you don't have to do that," Victoria assured her. "I was just calling to see if you were all right and now that I know you are, you can go about your business. I hope you're having a good time."

"I am," Davina said, smiling at Thomas, who was staring meditatively down into his coffee cup. "No doubt about that."

* * *

"Why didn't you sleep well last night?" Lucien asked Felicity. "Was it because you were thinking about me so much that you couldn't shut your eyes?"

"I wish," Felicity scoffed. "That would have been preferable to what the reason actually was. I went home to get my stuff yesterday like I said I would and I found Dad in bed with a woman!"

"Ah," Lucien nodded. "That explains why you were so quiet when you got back. Is it someone you don't like? I thought you said that Jennifer he was seeing was nice."

"She is, but it wasn't her," Felicity sighed. "It was Molly."

"And she is…?" Lucien asked.

"She's the daughter of Dad's friend Kai," Felicity said. "Up until fairly recently, she was a toddler, but some weird magic happened and every baby that was in our family group became a teenager, and apparently, it's causing some very interesting situations."

"Would you like to take revenge on your father by making it so he finds _us_ in bed together?" Lucien questioned.

"No, we already went through that, remember?" Felicity chuckled. "We were in bed together and he found us and moved me so when you woke up, he was next to you instead."

"Oh, yes," Lucien's eyes widened. "Thank you so much for reminding me of that when I _finally_ managed to forget it."

"Sorry," Felicity shrugged and gave him a spank. "You're the one who brought it up." Then she sauntered away and Lucien picked her up and stood there grinning as he held her in his arms.

"What are you planning to do with me now?" She asked after a few seconds. "Are we just gonna stand here all day? Or are we actually gonna do something?"

"What sort of something would you like to do?" Lucien smiled. "Our usual something?"

Just then, Klaus came upon them. "I know you hate being interrupted," he told Lucien firmly. "But in this case, I have to insist that you step away from my granddaughter and come with me."

"Why?" Lucien asked. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere that's not here," Klaus snapped and took Lucien's arm.

"Actually," Felicity replied, grabbing Lucien's other arm and giving a tug, "I need him to come to the mall with me. I hope that doesn't bother you, Grandpa."

Lucien looked back and forth between the pair, wondering who would pull on him next, before saying, "I hope you don't mind, Klausy, but I would rather go with her."

"Fine," Klaus said, shoving Lucien into Felicity's arms. "Whatever. Go. It doesn't matter to me."

"Yes, it does," Lucien smiled. "I know it."

* * *

"Thanks for the rescue," Lucien told Felicity as they walked arm in arm into the mall. "Did you _really_ need to come here, or did you just make that up?"

"Oh, I really needed to come here," Felicity smiled.

"Great," Lucien nodded. "How about you leave me in the food court while you shop? Unless of course, you're buying lingerie and then I would be _more_ than happy to come with you and advise you on your purchases."

"No, I don't need to buy lingerie," Felicity smiled. "But you should totally come with me anyway. And we should stop by the food court to eat first because you'll need your strength. We have a long day ahead of us."

Intrigued, Lucien followed Felicity to the food court where they got hot dogs and sodas and then headed out into the mall. He was feeling pretty good until they stopped in front of a store called "Babies R Us."

"What?" Lucien asked, his jaw dropping as his stomach roiled and he was afraid that the hot dog would come right back up again. "Why are we going in here? I thought you said you were taking a pill so we didn't _need_ to go to places like this!" He resisted as she began pulling him inside. "Don't! I don't want to be in here! I'm not ready!" He said this rather loudly so that all the women in the store gave him dirty looks.

"So what sort of clothes do you think we should get?" Felicity asked, and then said, "Let's get some of each so that when we find out what we're going to have, we'll be covered either way."

"Does your grandfather know about this?" Lucien asked, his voice shaking. "If not, tell me when you say something to him so I can be _far_ away."

"I will," Felicity told him. "Don't worry." She bought some other stuff and then paid for it all. Then they left the store and Lucien begged her to sit down on a bench with him. "If you're carrying my child, tell me the truth," he said. "You must be, if you're buying all these things."

"No, I'm not now," Felicity smiled. "But it wouldn't hurt to prepare for little Lucien or Lucy Jr. ahead of time, would it?" She asked. "You were the one that brought it up." He then let out a relieved breath as she winked and said, "Don't worry. Grandpa won't see this stuff, I swear."


	10. Reading In The Rain

"I can't believe you spent the night with a guy!" Samantha cried as she hugged Davina hard. "How was the sex? It wasn't the guy who gave you problems before, was it?"

"Yes, but there wasn't any sex," Davina said. "We just fell asleep on his sofa after watching a movie."

"And you had your clothes on in the morning?" Samantha questioned.

"Yes!" Davina assured her. "I did! When he's not full of grief, he's a very nice man. You should meet him."

"No, thank you," Samantha replied. "I _have_ met him, remember? And he's not my cup of tea. Hell, it took a bit of time for _Stefan_ to be my cup of tea, and I like _him_."

"I'm not asking you to date him!" Davina cried. "And I've been the third wheel plenty of times with you and Stefan." She smiled. "Did you just say you liked Stefan?"

"Well, that's your choice, isn't it?" Samantha smiled and ignored Davina's question. "Speaking of, I have to go meet him. When Ian comes back, lie to him about where I went if he asks, okay?"

"All right," Davina promised. "I won't tell Ian a thing, I swear."

"You're the best!" Samantha hugged her then and ran off to meet Stefan.

* * *

Wanting to avoid Kai and Victoria's extra houseguests who seemed to be more dangerous than she, Samantha, or Ian had ever been, Davina decided to leave and head back to Andrew and Amelia's, wondering what sort of reception she'd get since she'd just left there.

"Hi," Thomas said when he opened the door. "I thought you left."

"I did, but we have some very unpleasant house guests at home and Kai and Victoria have already sent their kids away, so I just thought I might—"

"Stay here with us until they go away?" Thomas finished. "Is that what you want?"

"Well, no, if it's too much of an inconvenience," Davina told him. "But maybe if I stayed here for a few hours, I could think about what to do with myself."

"It's not a problem for you to be here if you have issues at home," Thomas told her.

"No, I couldn't leave Kai and Victoria alone to deal with those horrible people," Davina got out. "It wouldn't be nice."

"Well, how could you help them?" Thomas asked. "Could you really? Or would you just make yourself miserable?"

Davina sighed. "You know, I never thought of it that way. I guess I wouldn't be any help at all, so I'll just stay here with you if that's okay."

"Of course it is," Thomas said with a smile as he gently pulled her inside and offered to take her coat.

"Well, look who's back!" Andrew remarked when he came upon them a few seconds later. "We're so delightful that you just couldn't stay away, could you?"

"No!" Davina smiled. "That and I remembered when I got home that we have some house guests that I'm just dying to stay the hell away from."

"Oh, I know how you feel," Andrew nodded. "I would run and hide any time Amelia's parents came anywhere near me. Not nice people, really. And yet she turned out so nice. At least around _me_ , that is."

"Interesting," Davina nodded. "But I bet Amelia's parents were angels compared to the people at home."

"I won't challenge you," Andrew told her. "I don't want you to have to relive the things you'll need to tell me to prove it."

"Okay," Thomas told her. "Depending on how long you're staying, we really _will_ need to make up a room for you cause in the long term, a bed is much more comfortable than a couch."

"Oh, you don't have to go to a lot of trouble," Davina told him. "I could just stay in your room if it'll make things easier." She then saw their smirks and raised eyebrows and realized what she'd said. "I didn't mean it that way," she said quickly, blushing a brilliant shade of red. "I meant get me a sleeping bag or some blankets so I can sleep on the floor in his room! I didn't mean I want to go anywhere near his bed."

"We know what you meant," Andrew said, patting her on the shoulder. But he was still chuckling behind her back.

* * *

Later in the day, they went to visit Thomas' Uncle Matthew.

"So you're having trouble at home?" Matthew asked Davina. "Did you age rapidly just like our daughter Sarah did? Is that the trouble, or are you hiding out from the crazy people at Kai and Victoria's house like Finn is?"

"The latter," Davina told him. "I'm one of the kids that Kai and Victoria invited to live with them."

"Oh, yes," Matthew nodded. "How nice!"

Just then, Sunny, Jack, and Zeke all came running up to the new visitors, barking and pawing at them.

"All right, everyone," Matthew said, gently pulling them all away. "Why don't we leave all the visitors alone now?"

"Oh, that's all right," Davina said and petted Sunny's head. "I've always wanted a pet. I love animals."

"That's good to know," Thomas said. "Did I tell you I have werewolf heritage?"

"What?" Davina asked, looking a little alarmed. "Are you saying you're a werewolf now?"

"No, I'm not," Thomas shook his head. "But I could be. And that's why I got so mad that one time and what happened between us happened in my bedroom, you know.

"Ah, yes," Davina nodded. " _That_ thing."

"Actually, now that you're a vampire, I don't think you can just turn," Matthew assured him. "I think that once you're a vampire, you can't turn into a werewolf at all, or it takes some pretty strong magic or something to make it work."

"Well, that's a relief," Thomas sighed.

Just then, Sarah came in, her hand in Finn's. "We heard a bunch of commotion," she said. "Do we need to take Sunny for a walk?"

"Yeah," Matthew nodded and picked up the dog, handing it to his daughter while Finn said 'Hello' to Davina.

"Did you run off from home too?" He smiled. "I don't blame you."

"I thought about staying right where I was, but your parents insisted I go somewhere else because I'd have a better time that way." She shrugged. "They know those people better than I do, so I wasn't gonna contradict them."

"Smart move," Finn nodded. _"Very_ smart move."

They strode off and then Thomas asked Davina, "What would you like to do now?"

"I don't know," Davina shrugged. "I've always wanted to know what you read in the park. Will you show me?"

"Sure," Thomas nodded. "But just to warn you, it might make you bored."

"We'll just see about that," Davina smiled.

* * *

They went to the part and sat on Thomas' usual bench while he rummaged around in his bag for the copy of _Oliver Twist_ he'd been reading. When he took the book out and removed the book mark, he chuckled to himself.

"Why are you laughing?" Davina asked curiously. "I thought Dickens wasn't supposed to be funny."

"It's not," Thomas replied, sobering. "But I've liked this book for so long, and then I find out about where I really came from and it's like I'm living it. He starts out as nobody and then finds out that he has rich relatives he never knew about. Isn't that an interesting coincidence?"

"Yeah," Davina nodded. "It really is." She laid her head on his shoulder as he kept the book open on his lap and read to her out loud. Eventually, the sky darkened above them and Thomas looked up when a cold drop of rain hit him on the head and a few more fell on his book, dampening the page.

"Damn!" He swore. "I guess we should be getting home now."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Davina said and kissed him before zapping up a red umbrella that she held over their heads. "There you go," she said. "This way we can keep on reading if you're not bothered by a little rain."

"I'm not," Thomas shook his head. "Are you?"

"Absolutely not," Davina replied. "Keep on reading, please."

* * *

By the time they got home, Davina was sneezing repeatedly and had the sniffles. "Damn it, I'm sorry," Thomas apologized and went to get her some tissues. "I forgot that you can still get sick in the rain. I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not," Davina replied and blew her nose. "It was worth it. I had a good time." He put a hand on her forehead. "You don't feel warm, but I think we should try and head whatever you might have off at the pass before it gets too out of control."

Making sure she had a good grip on the tissue box, he took her to his room and tucked her into his bed. "I'm not having you sleep on the floor if you're sick," he told her.

"But I might not be!" She said and unleashed a horrible cough.

"Then what was that?" He asked her wryly.

"Uh, nothing," Davina said quickly. "Nothing at all."

"Sure," Thomas said, his tone disbelieving. "Whatever you say." He went to the kitchen and said to Amelia, "Do we have some of that chamomile tea around? Or did we drink it all?"

"I think we still have some," Amelia replied. "Why?"

"Davina and I were reading out in the park when it started to rain," he said. "I kept her out too long and now I think she's sick."

"Well, if you're so worried about it, you can give her blood and that will take care of it," Amelia shrugged.

"No, I don't think I will," Thomas replied. "She's not that ill and I want…I want a chance to take care of her. I think that would be nice after what I did."

"That's very sweet!" Amelia smiled. "I trust you have it all under control, but if you need help, don't be afraid to ask your father or me."

"I won't," Thomas said and smiled at her before going to root around in the tea box. When he found the chamomile, he then said to Amelia, "Do you know how to do this? I don't."

"Sure," Amelia nodded. "I'll make the tea, and you go ask Davina if she wants anything to eat, all right?"

"All right," Thomas nodded and ran back to his room. "I'll do it."

* * *

"You guys didn't have to do this for me," Davina smiled as she lay in bed with her tea and a plate of chocolate cake. "I'm not even that sick!"

"But you could be if we're not careful," Amelia told her. "It's our pleasure. Sorry I didn't get you any milk, though. Cause if you're congested, milk just makes that worse."

"Really?" Davina asked. "I didn't know that."

"Well, it's true," Amelia smiled. Then she went to wash her hands in Thomas' bathroom. "Now that I'm human I have to remember that I can get germs too," she said. "You can never be too careful." She left Thomas and Davina alone then and Davina said, "Are you sure you want me to sleep here? This is your room. You shouldn't be on the floor." She then zapped in another bed that was identical to the one she was in. "There you go," she smiled with satisfaction. "Now no one has to sleep on the floor. I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

"Cause you really _did_ wanna sleep in my bed, didn't you?" Thomas whispered in her ear and then smiled widely when she turned to look at him.

Then she inadvertently sneezed in his face and he stepped back. "All right," he said, wiping it off with his sleeve. "I'm gonna let you eat and rest now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" Davina called after him. "And sorry I sneezed all over you. I didn't really mean to!"


	11. Making Some Progress

"So you're telling me that the person who knocked Sarah out is a lunatic and we should be grateful she wasn't killed?" Matthew asked, his eyes wide as he held his daughter very close to himself.

"Not just a lunatic," Selina said. "A _powerful_ lunatic."

"Well, thanks," Matthew swallowed. "That makes me feel _so_ much better. But Elijah can kill him, right?"

"Uh, um…" Selina cleared her throat and avoided meeting her father's gaze. "Maybe not," she said. "But don't worry. He and the others are working on it." She went to Elijah's office and said, "So…how's the Phoenix thing coming along? Not to rush you or anything, but what happened to Sarah sort of freaked Daddy out and now he wants him dead."

"He's not the only one," Elijah huffed. "Kol called and told me that he and Father at least have the start of the plan. It won't stop the Phoenix and whatever plan he's got, but it'll delay him, hopefully long enough that we can get a leg up on him."

"Oh?" Selina smiled and took a seat in Elijah's lap. "That's encouraging. What is it?"

"Well, apparently, his granddaughter Victoria gave birth to the Phoenix's children and since they're wanting the kids to bond, at least Molly is willing to be bait and distract them," Elijah replied. "If that works out, hopefully we won't have to do much more."

"What a shame," Selina pouted. "I was really looking forward to helping out. Cause you know I can be good help when I wanna be."

"I know," Elijah replied and played with her hair. "But we want to only use your method of help if it's really necessary."

"Oh, it's not that bad!" Selina replied. "I can control myself."

"Can you really?" Elijah asked skeptically. "Be honest."

"I think I can," Selina said with confidence. "But how can we know for sure if you don't let me test it?"

"Fine," Elijah replied. "If push comes to shove and we really need someone on the killing end, you can help."

"See? Was that so hard?" Selina asked and gave him a kiss. "And I'm so glad to see you're in a much better frame of mind then you've been lately."

"Well, now that we know where the Phoenix is and something of his plans, we have a way to fight them that we didn't before," Elijah reminded her. "That's why I feel better."

"All right," Selina nodded. "That makes sense. What should I tell my father about Sarah's safety?"

"Tell him that she should be fine, but that it might be best to keep her distance from Finn and Molly until we can get this figured out," Elijah said.

"Good," Selina nodded. "I'll do that."

* * *

Later that day, Klaus and Elijah were making plans at Elijah's when they had an unexpected guest: their sister, Anna, who they hardly ever saw because she liked to keep to herself.

"Selina called and told me about this big danger we're supposedly in," She huffed, tossing her blonde head. "How come no one told me this until now? Is it because I'm not important enough to be considered a threat? That's just ridiculous! I know you don't like me hanging around here because you think I'm a bad influence on your wife, but to leave me out of the loop when we could all die soon is a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"I'm sure someone was going to tell you at some point," Elijah sighed. "We wouldn't just leave you out."

"Yes, I know," Anna rolled her eyes. "I remember that 'Always and Forever' refrain. What can I do to help?"

"Don't bother asking," Selina replied. "He probably won't let you."

"I'd let her," Elijah informed his wife.

"Why?" Selina asked. "How come she can be a mean, nasty killer and I can't? She probably has less self-control than I do!" She paused. "Is it because she's an Original and I'm not?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "This is really more of our family's problem than yours."

"Oh, all right," Selina nodded, her lips pursing and her eyes narrowing. "I'll go spend time with my own family where my efforts are wanted and appreciated!"

When she reached the living room, she sat down in a huff between her father and Christine.

"What in the world is going on?" Matthew asked and gave her a hug. "Did you and Elijah have a fight?"

"Not exactly," Selina huffed. "But do you know what he just said to me? That this whole Phoenix thing is his family's problem and I don't need to be involved. Can you believe that? It's so…so _stupid!"_ She stomped her foot and growled, her blue eyes flashing.

"Well, darlin' what sort of help could you give him?" Matthew asked. Realistically, I mean, against such a powerful being?"

"I'm Lonely Heart, Daddy!" Selina cried and rose to her feet. "I have a reputation of being one of the most dangerous vampires ever, and he's acting like that's not worth anything! I'm not just gonna sit around and do nothing while all this is going on."

"You could come and help us look after Sarah," Christine offered. "We wouldn't have any objection to you calling on your darker side if the occasion arose."

"Now wait just one minute!" Matthew told his wife. "Don't go telling her that. We don't know how bad she gets. And if Elijah wants to put a muzzle on her, there has to be a reason for it."

"You're my dad!" Selina said. "You're supposed to be on _my_ side!"

"I know you say you'll be careful, but I just don't want you to have a life full of guilt because you let yourself go and then hurt someone you didn't mean to hurt," Matthew explained. "That's my thought process behind all this. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings."

"Will you take us up on the Sarah offer?" Christine begged her. "Please?"

"All right," Selina sighed. "Thank you for giving me a way to be useful in all this."

"You're welcome," Christine smiled. "It's my pleasure."

* * *

Meanwhile, Amy was asking Klaus the same question. "How can I help? I know I personally don't have magic anymore, but you know I'd be more than happy to gather up the girls."

"Yes!" Klaus grinned widely. "I'm sure Kol's doing that with his family, so why don't we do the same with ours? And make sure that you ask Vivi to bring King too!"

"Really?" Amy smiled. "I thought you hated King."

"I do, but now we really can't afford to leave anyone behind, can we?" Klaus asked.

While Amy went to gather the troops (which wasn't very hard to do since everyone except Rosalie had heard about the Phoenix business already), Klaus went to talk to Alistair.

"So…any ideas?" He asked, standing behind his friend.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about the slowest and most painful way to kill you for bringing that damn mummy home!" Alistair said without looking at him. "None of this would have happened if you'd just left him where he was."

"You don't know that!" Klaus said. "His wife is very determined. If we hadn't brought him home, she probably would have, even if it took a bit more time!"

Alistair did look up. "You make a good point," he agreed. "Damn."

"Okay," Astrid said, paper in hand as she strode into the room. "I have the whole situation under control with Finn and Molly, as do Kai and Victoria and Malachai and Helene. That's a big chunk of things we don't have to worry about anymore."

"Yes, but what about the Phoenix?" Klaus asked. "What can we do about him? Everyone who's as strong as he is is either dead or out of reach."

"True," Astrid nodded. "Which means his twins are gonna be more useful to us than we first believed. I hope they're strong enough to handle what we need them to do. I feel terrible about putting them through it, but what other choice do we have?"

"Yes," Alistair agreed. "That's the only drawback. But it's worth it, don't you think?"

"We have to keep telling ourselves it is, or we'll never get anything done," Astrid told him firmly. Then she let out a squeak and put a hand to her chest as Eva popped into the room. "Hi," she said. "Mom said Grandma Amy wanted you to see me, and she also wanted me to tell you that she'd be along later with Dad to help with the Phoenix business."

"Good," Alistair nodded. "Now, the Phoenix is-"

"Some nut warlock who kidnapped Finn and knocked out his friend Sarah," Eva nodded. "I know all about that. Mary's son Junior told us the whole thing after the incident happened."

"That's great!" Alistair smiled. "Not having to explain it all to you will save time!"

"Well, I'm here to help," Eva smiled. "I don't know how, but whatever you need from me, I'll do."

"You have magic, right?" Alistair asked.

"Yes," Eva nodded and sent him up into the air with a flick of her wrist. He floated so high that he hit his head on the ceiling before he was able to come down again.

"Sorry!" Eva called, making a face. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded and rubbed his head. "But from now on, inflict damage on the Phoenix and not me, all right?"

"Got it," Eva smiled and clicked her tongue, giving him a thumbs up. "I'll be sure and remember that. You think I should go be with Victoria or something? This whole mess has to be wearing on them."

"All right," Alistair nodded. "If you think it will help, go ahead."

Eva turned her back and was about to leave when she paused and went to hug Klaus. "Sorry it's been so long since we've talked," she told him.

"That's all right," he said. "How's your mother?"

"Not bad," Eva told him. "This is putting her keen analytical mind to work and she likes that."

Klaus chuckled. "I thought she would. I know you mean to go and see Victoria, but first will you come with me in my car? I want to see your mother first."

"All right," Eva nodded and took his hand in hers. "No problem."


	12. Surveying The Enemy

"You might be pleased to see this, or not," Amy told Elijah as Selina led her and Klaus into Elijah's office. "It seems like we've been invited to a dinner party. Tonight."

"Tonight?" Elijah asked. "Whoever's idea it was had very poor taste, not to mention bad manners. I'm not going."

"Well, no one said you were invited," Klaus told him. " _We_ were."

"Have fun," Elijah replied. "And while you're out partying, I'll deal with this whole Phoenix situation by myself. It's probably better that way."

"Actually, the invitation is _from_ the Phoenix," Klaus said with a wolfish grin. "That's the interesting part. I'm eager to go."

"Eager to hop out of the frying pan and into the fire?" Elijah scoffed. "Of course you are."

"Wait a minute," Selina said. "Amy, may I see that envelope?"

"Sure," Amy nodded and handed it to her.

Selina took it in hand and looked it over. "Just a minute," she said, and then came back a few minutes later with a similar envelope in hand. "Looks like we've been invited to this little soiree too, Elijah." She plopped the envelope in her husband's lap. "Are we gonna go?"

"Of course we'll go!" Elijah told her. "We have to get to know our enemy!"

"But I assume you'll have to be more subtle than that," Selina reminded him. "If you give away your intentions to kill him now, we won't get anywhere."

"I know that!" Elijah snapped. "I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were," Selina told him. "I was just making a point."

"Well, if we only have until tonight to get ready for this party, we might as well start now," Klaus remarked. "There's so much to do."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "There is indeed. Let's get to it then."

* * *

"What are you guys doing?" Stephanie asked her parents after coming into their room.

"We are picking out clothes to wear to a party tonight," Selina replied. "It might be the last one we ever go to because our host allegedly wants to kill us, so if we don't come back, you know why. And make sure your brother knows too, please."

"All right," Stephanie nodded. "And if you die, don't worry. I'm sure I can find a place to live. Kai and Victoria take in people without homes. Maybe if I ask, they'll take me too."

"Now don't get too excited," Selina warned. "We don't know for sure that we're gonna die tonight, but it's good to be prepared if we do."

"I still don't understand why anyone would want to kill you," Stephanie said to Elijah. "You and the family are the most powerful vampires in the world. That's what you've always told me. That's why I'm more special than anyone else."

"I'm sure I did tell you something like that," Elijah said. "But if you use that as an excuse to be nasty to other people, I'd like you to stop."

"Why?" Stephanie wanted to know.

"Cause it's not nice to treat other people badly when they don't do the same to you," Elijah told her firmly.

"Oh, all right," Stephanie huffed. "I'll try to be nicer, especially if you two make it back alive."

"Good," Elijah smiled as Selina rejected a green dress, tossing in on the bed and reaching for a red one. "That's all I ask."

* * *

"So tell me," Kol said to Kai as he and his wife, Amy's equally red-haired sister Margot, sat at Kai and Victoria's kitchen table. "We got this invitation to a dinner party tonight. One of the people who's hosting it is your mother. Do you know anything about this?"

"No," Kai shook his head. "My mother and I don't talk much, except to yell at one another. If she has an evil scheme planned, I'd be the last one to know about it. However, is it at their house?"

"Yes," Kol said, after checking the invitation. "Looks like it is."

"When you're there, keep an eye out for Finny then, please," Victoria requested of her grandparents. "I mean, I doubt that he's dead, but I just…I would sleep better at night if I knew that he was safe."

"All right," Margot said and gave her distraught granddaughter a hug. "We'll look out for him, Victoria. I promise."

* * *

"Seems like you and I have been invited to a dinner party at the home of your friend the Phoenix," Gwen said as she handed the invitation to Mikael. "It's tonight, though." She sighed. "It means we'll have to cancel that bridge game with Rebecca and Eli."

"Good," Mikael said firmly. "I hate bridge."

"You mean you'd rather spend an evening with a man who's out to murder you than spend one night playing bridge with my daughter and her husband?" She scoffed. "That figures."

"Now is not the time to be petty, Gwendolyn!" Mikael countered. "This is important."

"Well, all right," Gwen huffed. "I suppose it is. Oh, and be sure and wear a suit to this party. If we're going to our death, we want to look our best."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Mikael told her. "Except I don't plan to just surrender. If I'm going down, I'll be going down fighting."

"I'll be at your side then," Gwen smiled and took his hand. "What a good way to go for both of us. If we have to, of course."

"Good," Mikael nodded, and then began talking in an irritable voice because he was beginning to feel emotional and he didn't want Gwen to know. "Now, don't be silly. We don't know for sure that will happen. Why do you always have to think the worst?"

"I guess I like to be either pleasantly surprised when proven wrong or satisfied when proven right," Gwen told him and then led him to the bedroom to pick out their clothes.

* * *

"Thank you for telling us about this," Alistair told Elijah as he and Astrid squeezed next to Klaus and Amy in the back of Elijah's car to go to the dinner party. "It's going to be a bit cramped, and we technically weren't invited, but it's something I'm glad we know about."

"Yes," Astrid agreed. "Keeping a handle on this is just the thing I need to get back into the good graces of the Council. They're still mad that I just came back and took my place like before."

"Still?" Amy asked, looking amazed. "You would think that getting the entire mess that happened while you were gone under control would get you some points, but apparently not."

"No," Astrid sighed. "They feel I made a big mess of things before, so it's gonna take something much bigger than getting them back in order to make them like me again."

"You can do it," Alistair told her. "I know you can."

Selina began to back the car out of Astrid and Alistair's driveway and Elijah huffed from the seat beside her, "I don't know why you didn't let me drive. This is _my_ car, after all."

"Well, we both know that you're on the fence about me going near this Phoenix, so I want to show you that I'm capable of doing _something,"_ Selina shot back.

"Oh, I'm not on the fence," Elijah corrected. "I'm _very_ certain that I don't want you having anything to do with it at all."

"And why the hell not?" Selina asked. "I don't see what the big deal is! I'm skilled. I can fight!"

"I don't question your ability to fight!" Elijah told her. "I question your ability to return to a sane, non-dangerous state after your bloodlust is sated. That's difficult for you, isn't it? Be honest."

"I admit that it used to be," Selina replied. "But now…now that I'm not so angry, it could be easier. We'll never know unless we test it out! Let me be a part of this, Elijah! Please!"

"No," Elijah told her firmly.

Selina then glanced at Klaus in the mirror. "Can you believe him?" She asked. "If you were in his position, you'd trust me, right?"

"Well, yes!" Klaus nodded. "Of course!"

"And that's all we're gonna say," Amy replied firmly. "Cause we don't feel it's right to get involved when it's not our affair."

"I wasn't just butting in," Klaus defended himself. "She asked me directly."

"And you answered," Amy nodded. "But you don't need to say any more. This tiff is between Elijah and Selina and that's it."

"Good job," Elijah told Selina now you've made everyone uncomfortable. I hope you're proud of yourself!" Selina then turned her head for a moment to hiss at him and he did the same to her.

"Why don't we just sit quietly until we get to the dinner?" Astrid suggested quickly. "That's a good idea, isn't it?"

"All right," Elijah nodded. "Whatever you think would be best, Astrid."

* * *

When they reached the Phoenix's house, they found Mikael and Kol already there with their wives, sitting in their cars in the driveway.

"So were you all just going to sit here all night without going inside?" Elijah asked his father.

"I tried to leave, but Gwendolyn suggested it might be better if we all arrived in a group," Mikael said as he got out to join his sons. He saw Selina and then said, "It was so nice of you to come. Maybe if we hand you over as some sort of tribute, they'll be willing to leave us alone. I can't think of any other reason why you'd be here."

"I'm here cause I was _invited_ ," Selina spat. "Cause I'm _family."_

"Of course you are," Mikael said and patted her on the head before swearing as she grabbed his hand and bit it hard.

"Oh, damn!" He yelled and frowned deeply. "Damn you!"

"This is why it's best to keep your hands to yourself," Gwen remonstrated her husband while trying not to laugh.

"Well, fuck her," Mikael mumbled and rubbed the sore part of his hand which was beginning to bleed just a bit, the marks of Selina's teeth very obvious.

It was then that a figure came toward them. They assumed fighting stances, thinking it was the Phoenix himself, but as he came closer, they saw that it was Finn.

"Finn, are you all right?" Margot asked, noticing her great-grandson's pale, drawn look. "Have they hurt you?"

"No," Finn said, but he sounded like a zombie. "My father wants to know if you plan to come inside, or if you'd rather eat out here. Either way, he'll see you. There's no way to get out of it."

"We know," Gwen said. "We were just waiting for everyone to come so we could go into the house together. But we're ready now. Lead us to him, Will you, Finn, dear?"

"Right this way," Finn said in that same monotone voice.

"Well, we can tell Victoria that he's not hurt in any way," Margot whispered to Kol. "That's good."

"Yes, but they've turned him into some sort of zombie or something!" Kol pointed out. "He's not right in the head!"

"I think it's a spell," Astrid told him. "We can fix whatever's been done once we get him away from here."

Once they'd gotten inside and surrendered their wraps and coats, a servant came with aperitifs, and then Finn the zombie excused himself to go tell his parents that their guests had arrived.

"Do you think we should drink these?" Amy asked Klaus, holding her glass up to the light and eyeing the amber liquid doubtfully. "What if it's poisoned?"

"I would go ahead and drink it," Klaus advised. "We don't want to offend our hosts and if he went to all the trouble to make dinner, he wouldn't poison us the with the before-dinner cocktail."

"All right," Selina nodded and gulped down the drink in one go before Elijah had a chance to stop her. Once her glass was empty, she smiled and licked her lips. "Hey," she said appreciatively. "That's not bad. If anyone else is nervous, I'll take theirs."

"Well, well," Mikael chuckled as he looked at Elijah. "It seems that for once, the fact that your wife drinks like a fish has come in handy."

"Oh, this isn't typical," Elijah assured his father. "She's just mad at me and is trying to get some sort of revenge and prove how childish she is."

Selina, whose cheeks bulged with alcohol, paused to give him a dirty look before she swallowed and sucked in a breath. "Wow!" She said. "That's really strong stuff! You're welcome for saving all your lives, by the way."

"It's amazing she can still stand up after all that," Kol said with admiration as he watched her teeter away. "You think you should go after her?"

"Fine," Elijah sighed did that, but when he tried to grab her and bring her back, she punched him in the nose.

"All right," he said, picking her up and putting her over his shoulder. "I tried to be nice, and now we're doing this the hard way."

"Excuse me," said a low, pleasant voice. "I don't mean to interrupt. Are you ready for dinner?"

Elijah paused and turned so that he was facing in the direction of the voice and when he said 'Hello', Selina did too. "You're not interrupting anything," Elijah assured him and put her on her feet. "We're just…having some difficulties right now."

"Ah," John replied with a toothy grin. "I am the Phoenix. I suppose you're wondering why I invited all of you here today."

"To kill us?" Selina asked.

"Well, not _you_ ," John told her. "You're not an Original vampire, are you? They're the only ones worth killing."

"Why I oughta…" Selina took a run at him, but once again, Elijah held her back.

"What a spirited woman you have there," John told Elijah with a chuckle. "If it means so much to her, I'll be _more_ than happy to kill her too."

"Not if we can help it," Alistair got out. "We've got magic."

"Oh, how cute," John chuckled and then turned to yell over his shoulder. "Come here, Edele. They came and brought some magical little friends too. I suppose that's all right. It's only fair for us to make things as even as they can be, even if you can't possibly beat me."

"If we're going to eat, let's do it now," Amy said firmly. "Enough of this messing around."

"All right," John nodded. "I hoped you wouldn't be the type to dawdle. This pleases me."

When they reached the table, several courses were laid out in front of them, but none of them touched any of them.

"Oh, please, eat!" John urged when he saw. "Everyone deserves a last meal."

"No, thank you," Elijah said firmly. "We're not hungry."

"Except for your blood," Kol added, showing his teeth. "I'd be more than happy to take that."

"There's no chance that will happen, but it's nice to see that you still have hope," John said.

"And could you tell us what you've done to poor Finn?" Margot got out. "I promised I'd report to his mother."

"He's proven to be far less useful than I thought he would be," John huffed. "His mother sees hope in him, but I'm not so sure. If his parents want him, they've got three days to come and collect him."

"Well, that's very merciful," Margot told him. "Thank you."

"I'm only doing that for Edele's sake," John told her. "She'd get testy with me if I didn't at least give Finn a chance to live." With a flick of his wrist, the food disappeared and little bowls of crème brulee appeared. "If you won't eat dinner, at least enjoy dessert," he told them. "You'll live longer that way."

He left then and Selina cracked the sugar coating and began eating the vanilla custard underneath.

"Selina what are you doing?!" Elijah asked.

"I was okay with passing up all the dinner food, but there's no chance in hell I'm letting a crème brulee go to waste," she said. "I don't give a damn if there _is_ something wrong with it."

"You're either very brave or very stupid," Mikael told her as he watched her eat. "I can't decide which one." Then he looked around the table. "I don't think he'll kill us now," he told them all. "This is just a test so he can see what he's up against."

So they ate their crème brulee, and just as Astrid was about to zap them out to their cars, John said, "Just one minute. I have one more surprise before you go. Someone else who'd like to say hello to you all, since she hasn't seen you in such a very long time."

"Who is it?" Elijah asked.

"I'll let her tell you for herself," John smiled. Then, all the Original family gasped as a blonde strode into the room, wearing a white dress, diamond necklace, and silver flats. "Hello, family," she said. "Long time no see."

Klaus, Kol, and Elijah rose to their feet and said in unison, " _Freya_?"

Freya Mikaelson then smiled at her half-brothers. "Surprise," she said. "I bet you weren't expecting to see me here."


	13. Battle Plans

"Anna told me that the woman who was at the Phoenix's house is your sister," Selina said to Elijah, the phone that she'd been talking to Anna on still in her hand. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "It's nice to see that Freya's gone back to her old name. She's been going by Katherine for years. Something very common. Probably allowed her to get away with a lot."

"Interesting." Selina advanced into Elijah's office and sat down on his desk. "So…where does she fit in the family dynamics?"

"She's Alexander's twin sister," Elijah said patiently. "And they were the product of Father's first marriage."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay. That's probably why your dad looked so ill when she showed up."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "That's what I surmised too. Now, can we talk about your behavior the night of the Phoenix's party? I think we've avoided the subject long enough."

"Oh, you want to congratulate me for biting your dad?" Selina smiled. "Great. Let's hear it."

Elijah frowned. "No, I do _not_ want to congratulate you for biting my father," he said. "I think that was very childish of you. It wouldn't hurt you to act a bit more adult around him."

"Why?" Selina asked. "So he'll like me better? Newsflash: I think we passed that point a long time ago and no matter what I do, he's always gonna be contemptuous and unpleasant toward me unless I'm pregnant or I've just had a baby. I would be good to him if I knew it would help, but it doesn't. So I figure I might as well get a few laughs in at his expense to make myself feel better. Besides, I think it's good for someone like him to be brought down to size once in a while."

Elijah sighed. "Fine. You taunt my father all you want, but when he gets mad and comes after you, don't expect me to get in the middle and help you after I told you several times that this is _not_ the right way to behave."

"Fine, I won't," Selina told him. "Because even though there have been times where having you around to rescue me has been very lucky and I'm very grateful to you, I don't need that all the time. Sometimes, I can take care of myself, _including_ when I help you with this Phoenix thing."

Elijah chuckled when he heard this. "Fine," he said. "You can help. I don't know how much you'll get to do, though, since it's more Kol and Kai's problem than it is ours and we're just there for backup."

"Oh, you think?" Selina asked. "I wouldn't be so complacent if I were you. He's already hurt Sarah once. Who's to say that he won't try and do it again? Or any other people from our side of the family who get caught in the crossfire? He may be involved with Kol and them, but that doesn't mean we can stop worrying. What it means is that if anyone gets spared, it'll be Kol and his gang and you and Klaus and I will be completely and utterly destroyed."

"And that's exactly why I want you to be left out of this," Elijah told her. "I don't want you to be hurt."

"That's kind, but it might be a futile hope," Selina told him. "Please, if we're gonna go down, at least let me go down fighting? Do you think you can do that?"

"Does the answer I give you even matter?" Elijah asked. "I know that you always do what you want regardless of how I feel."

"Of course I care how you feel," Selina replied and hugged him. "And I promise I'll do everything I can so that I don't die, but I gotta feel like I'm doing something, you know? I can't just sit on my butt and do nothing."

"All right," Elijah sighed. "But if you have to go dark, it's absolutely the last resort. Self-defense only. Is that fair?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "That's a stipulation I can work with."

"Good," Elijah nodded. "I'm glad we got that settled. At a time like this, there really can't be any division between any of it could be exploited at any minute, especially you with your notoriety."

"I'll try and not be so proud of that for a while," Selina said. "I promise. I know that might be best."

"Another good decision," Elijah told her. "You seem to be speaking sensibly at last, which is a great relief to me."

"I'm glad you like it," Selina replied as she put her arms around him. "And you are aware that we might still fight in the future, especially if I _do_ go dark, right?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded and gave her a kiss. "There's always a chance that we'll fight, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to be near you before. I brought you out of the darkness before, and I'm confident that I can do it again, even though, more than anything, I really wish I didn't have to."

"I know," Selina replied. "Like we said though, that's only the last resort." She smiled. "Things are so much easier when we're not fighting."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "They really are. Now, speaking of taking part in this whole Phoenix mess, shouldn't you pay a visit to Sarah? You promised Christine and Matthew that you'd help keep an eye on her after she was beat up and Finn was kidnapped."

"You know, that's a very good point," Selina nodded. "I think that's exactly what I'll do. Thanks for reminded me. I'll be back later."

"All right," Elijah called after her. "Have a good time!"

* * *

"Okay," Davina told Samantha as they walked into Roxie's with Stefan and then he went to find them a table while the girls headed for the bathroom so they could talk in private, which they did after Samantha unceremoniously booted two girls out of the stalls and made a third one stand watch so that no one else would come in.

"That was a bit extreme, don't you think?" Davina asked her friend/sister, feeling sorry for the girls. "Couldn't we have talked with them in the room?"

"No," Samantha shook her head. "I'm gonna show you something and you can't tell anyone. Especially not Stefan."

"Oh?" Davina's eyes widened. "And just what is the big secret?"

Samantha put a finger to her lips, her dark eyes narrowed a little as she pulled a crumpled scrap of paper from her pocket. "Read this," she said. "And tell me what you think."

Davina took it in hand, smoothed it out the best she could, and read it. "My god," she said. "This is a love note! And who the hell is Rocky?"

"You remember Rocky," Samantha said. "You know that boyfriend of mine that I was going with before Mom and Dad stuck Ian and me in the asylum? They say they did it because of our magic, but I think that in my case, it was because they knew I was gonna run off with a guy who wore leather and had a motorcycle and they couldn't stop me."

"Isn't that a little cliché?" Davina asked.

"Maybe, but it was a way to get out, so I thought I would take it," Samantha shrugged. "I wrote him before we got put away, but I had no idea that the message actually reached him. Or that he knew the way to send something back to me. And it seems like he still wants me to run away with him."

"And what will you do about that?" Davina asked her sister. "You and Stefan haven't been together very long, but I don't think he'll want you dating. Other people, anyway."

"Oh, please," Samantha scoffed. "He's not the boss of me."

"Fine, tell him about Rocky," Davina challenged. "But it won't be pretty."

"Speaking of relationships with boys that aren't going well, what about you and Thomas?" Samantha wanted to know. "Did you invite him to come like I asked you to?"

"Yeah, I did, but he was busy with some family stuff, so he declined," Davina shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"That's weird," Samantha told her. "You guys were so hot and heavy before. You slept overnight at his house!"

"Yeah, on his parents' couch with clothes on!" Davina corrected. "You can hardly call that 'sleeping together'."

"Well, then you're doing it wrong," Samantha told her with a smirk. "I'm very disappointed in you."

"Yeah, whatever," Davina replied. "Let's go see what Stefan's up to; he probably thinks we're dead by now."

But when they got to the table, Stefan looked up at them with surprise. "There you are," he said. "Nice that you were able to find the time to come back." He hadn't waited for them because he was on his second drink. It was while he downed another mouthful that Samantha dropped her bombshell. "A boyfriend of mine is coming to town soon and wants to see me, so I'm going, all right?"

Stefan heard this, spat his drink all over Samantha's white shirt, and coughed. "What?" He asked when he could talk. "Why would you want to see an old boyfriend? You're with me now!"

"Uh, I don't _think_ so," Samantha told him. "We never made anything official."

"I kissed you in public!" Stefan cried. "You sat on my lap _in public!_ Is that not official enough for you?"

"Stefan, this guy has been pining for me since before I got thrown in the asylum," Samantha informed him. "I can't just ignore him now that I've gotten out. At least let me say goodbye. You're secure enough that you can do that, right?"

"No!" Stefan shook his head. "No, I'm not! When you see him, I'm coming with you!"

"Oh, won't that be fun?" Samantha smiled and took her in his arms. "I've always wanted a threesome."

"I've been there," he spat and pushed her away. "And they aren't always as fun as you think." He then lapsed into drinking and didn't say another word to them until Samantha got tired and zapped herself and Davina home, leaving an angry Stefan to drink by himself.

* * *

When they got home, they were confronted by Ian. "Where were you?" He asked Samantha. "Out with that guy again?"

"Yeah," Samantha replied. "An activity that it wouldn't hurt you to engage in from time to time. What happened to that guy who saved your life after his dog bit you and looked after you at the hospital? Why don't you call him up?"

"Cause he's not my type," Ian told her. "Much too fussy and practical."

"I think you should give it a shot," she encouraged. "And I really mean that. I'm not just trying to get you off my back."

"Yeah," Ian shook his head. "I'm sure you're not."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you," Samantha told him.

"And I am too, for you," Ian replied. "I know what's in that note you're carrying around with you. Do you think meeting with Rocky's a good idea?"

"No, but I at least want to give the relationship closure," Samantha said. "I owe him that."

Ian rolled his eyes and looked at Davina. "Can you believe her?" He asked.

Davina just stayed silent because she didn't want to be pulled into this mess further and she didn't know what else to say.

* * *

The next day, she decided to give Thomas a call and tell him about it.

"No," he said when she asked if he thought she should encourage this relationship. "Tell him to get as far away from her as possible."

"Why?" Davina asked. "She's a big girl. She can handle herself and she made it clear that she's only seeing him to tell him goodbye."

"She dated this guy as a way to rebel against her parents, didn't she?" Thomas asked. "That would mean that he's not necessarily the type to take 'No' for an answer. She could get in big trouble! If you don't tell her to end things, I will."

Davina heard this and laughed her head off. "And you actually think she'll listen to you? Newsflash, she won't. She doesn't even listen to her twin brother a lot of the time."

"Fine, then you tell her," Thomas insisted. "Will she listen to you?"

"I don't know," Davina replied. "I'm actually trying _not_ to get involved."

"Well, then why did you call me to ask me about it?" Thomas asked.

"Cause I was trying to make conversation since I haven't seen you in a while and this is the biggest thing that's going on in my life right now!" Davina cried.

"Okay, let's change the subject," Thomas said quickly. "What are you wearing?"

"Jeans and a red shirt," Davina replied. "Why…wait. Are you trying to have phone sex with me? Cause my bra is white and made of this really thin lace, so if I reach up I can feel myself really easily and right now, my nipples are getting really, really, hard…" She heard a sharp gasp from the other end of the line. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Should we stop?"

"No," Thomas told her. "Keep going."

Davina put the phone down, put it on speaker, and kept talking. "I'm taking off my shirt," she told him. "It's on the floor next to me, and…and I'm touching myself underneath all the lace." She was initially not putting much effort into it, but at once point, her touching made her gasp as she stood in the center of her bedroom in just her bra (which opened in the front and was unhooked) and her matching panties.

"What was that noise?" Thomas asked, sounding a little worried. "Has something terrible happened?"

"No," Davina said. "I'm fine." She paused and walked over to the phone. "You wouldn't be wearing pants now, would you?"

"No," Thomas replied. "I'm only in my boxers, but that can change very quickly." There was a silence and then he said, "There now. I'm not wearing anything at all."

"Not a single thing?" Davina asked, shutting her eyes as she let images of what she thought Thomas looked like naked drift through her mind. She knew she'd seen it before, but given the circumstances of their last sexual encounter, the details were a bit fuzzy. "Good. That's very good. Are you a big boy?"

"I should like to think I am," Thomas replied. "I wonder, though, how long before I can show you again in person?"

"I don't know," Davina said. "Maybe we should just stick with our imaginations for now." She undressed and went to lie down in bed. "I'm resting under silk sheets, Thomas. Rubbing them against my bare thighs. They're so cool against my skin. Do you like the feel of silk against your bare skin, Thomas?"

"Yes," Thomas nodded. "It…it thrills me just to think about it." Then, he told her, "I have to step away now. I hope you'll understand."

"You need some alone time to go over what we just discussed?" Davina asked.

"Yes," Thomas said. "Yes, I do."

"Well, all right then," Davina replied. "Talk later. Goodbye."

"Damn, even your voice is alluring," Thomas got out. "Goodbye." The call ended then and Davina chuckled into her pillow after pulling her covers over herself.

* * *

"So, you want to tell me about that party you went to?" Lucien asked Klaus in a rare attempt to relate to him in a friendly way. "Was it fun?"

"Yes," Klaus told him wryly. "We were threatened with death. Next time, I just might bring you."

"You know, you never seem happy to see me," Lucien observed. "Maybe I should just give you a break and move somewhere else. Perhaps Felicity and I can find a place together. Surely she won't want to spend the rest of her life living with her father." He paused. "Or maybe not."

"Why not?" Klaus asked. "Not that I'm overly eager for you to be near my granddaughter, but it's not like I can stop her at this point."

"Well, I'd have to marry her, wouldn't I?" Lucien wanted to know. "Or do women not care so much about their reputations in presence of men they aren't married to in this time?"

Klaus sighed. Having to explain stuff like this to him was getting irritating. "I'm sure that if you asked her, she wouldn't refuse you," he said. "Just do me a favor and don't tell me anything that goes on behind closed doors, even though I know it would amuse you."

"Oh, damn," Lucien smirked. "And here I was all ready to write you a novel."

Just then, Felicity came in and she had two bags in her hands. "Here's the first couple," she said and handed them to Klaus. "You mind if I move in here? Dad and Molly are sleeping together now and that's not something I want to be around to see every day."

"Actually, Kitten, I was just speaking to your grandfather about us getting a place of our own." He grinned toothily. "What do you think?"

"You and me? Alone? In a big house?" Felicity shook her head. "I don't know. I might feel like a mouse being fed to a snake."

"Oh, honestly, Kitten!" Lucien huffed. "You can trust me."

"I can't," Felicity smiled. "And I suppose that's why I like you."

Lucien smiled and got so close to her that their chests were touching. "I don't understand what that means," he told her. "But I like it."

They began kissing then and intially, Lissy gave him a slap, but then that just seemed to turn them on more. Klaus rolled his eyes, stomping off to go complain to Amy.

"Lucien and Lissy are kissing," he said. "I'd rather spend a few hours at the Phoenix's mercy than see _that_ again." He paused. "On the bright side, Adrian seems to have found some happiness."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Amy smiled. "Who with?"

"Molly," Klaus smiled. "Kol's granddaughter who was apparently actually fathered by the Phoenix himself." He paused and smiled wickedly. "Would it be wrong to try and exploit that relationship so that it comes out in our favor?"

"Well, I'm sure if there's exploiting to be done, Kol and his bunch are already doing it," Amy replied. "But don't go bothering Adrian so much that you ruin things for him."

"I would never!" Klaus replied.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked. "Cause I think one of the reasons why he's found it so hard to be with a woman is because so much of his life has been devoted to trying to live up to you and pleasing you."

"But that's not so hard, is it, love?" Klaus asked and kissed Amy before dipping her so that her head practically touched the floor.

"Well, I'm getting better at it," Amy said when she was standing up again. "It's really not so bad. But I think it wouldn't hurt Adrian to have a break. You can mention asking for Molly's help, but don't make him devote every waking minute to securing her allegiance."

"Fine, I won't," Klaus huffed. "I wasn't going to anyway."

"Good," Amy smiled and played with his hair. "Good boy."

Klaus smiled. "Good boy," he repeated and stripped down before Amy's eyes, turning into a werewolf in front of her and then coming to nudge up her skirt with his nose and rub his head against her thigh.

Amy petted him, running her hand over the fur on his back repeatedly, wishing she still had her powers so she could turn into a wolf herself and join him. But she couldn't. She started to walk into the bathroom so she could change into more comfortable clothes, and of course, he followed her, watching intently as she stripped down.

There was something both very odd and very erotic about being watched intently by a wild animal. After her clothes were in a pile on the bathroom floor, she gasped a little as a loud growl escaped Klaus' throat. He rushed her and she shut her eyes tight. The next thing she knew, she was in his arms and lying on top of a pile of unfolded towels.

"Are you all right?" He asked in a husky voice. "Did I scare you?"

"N-no," she assured him as he began kissing her neck. "But…but it was a good thing you changed back, otherwise we would have had ourselves a very odd situation."

"Yes, we would have," he whispered in her ear before he nibbled on her neck and lay her back down on the towels, burying himself deep inside her as she held onto him, shut her eyes, and let her cry of release rattle the windows without so much as a second thought.


	14. At His Mercy

"I'm so pleased that our other boy had the skill to get away from here," Edele told John. "It means he's living up to his family reputation."

"Yes, I know," John sighed. "It's so annoying."

"Well, make up your mind!" Edele said. "Do you want powerful children who can outsmart you, or weak ones that will follow you and do everything you say, but because of that, won't make a big impression on the world overall?"

"See, I don't know!" John told her and brought his hands down on the table. "They both have their benefits. It's a very tough choice!" He paused. "It's clear what _you_ want from them. And I'm very surprised, too. I thought you hated children."

"I don't hate children," Edele corrected. "I hate children that were spawned by a human idiot and did nothing but cause trouble. But Finn and Molly…they were fathered by you. And I _like_ you."

"Only like?" John said. "That's all?"

"Hey, for me, just liking someone is a big compliment," Edele reminded him. "You should take it when it's given to you. And I wouldn't mind a 'Thank you' for all the work I did to give you children to carry on your legacy."

John sighed. "I do suppose I owe you that," he told her. "Thank you." He gave her a kiss and then excused himself to go think of a plan to get all of his children back under one roof. But try as he might, it was hard. He got up from his bed and went next door, knocking softly. "Freya? Come join me," he ordered her.

"Why?" She asked, opening the door a few minutes later. "What do you want?"

"I need some inspiration," he said, pulling her himself and whispering in her ear. "And you, dear, you inspire me very much."

"What do you need me to do?" She asked.

"You don't need to speak," He said, taking her arm. "Just sit with me."

"All right," Freya nodded.

So they went to his room and sat down on his bed. He stroked her gently with his fingers as he let thoughts flow through his mind: Her cheek was first, then he went down to her neck, arms, and hands.

"Are you coming up with anything?" Freya asked. "Is this helping, or should I get the rope?"

"Oh, I don't know," John replied. He sat back and thought a moment as he played with Freya's blonde hair. Then, he let her hair go, gave her a kiss, and said with a smile, "You know what? What the hell? Go ahead and get the rope."

Freya smiled. "I wouldn't put up with this from just _anyone,_ you know." She brought him the rope, stripped down to her underwear, and let him tie her up. "But with what you promised me in return, I think it's worth it." She paused. "You really _will_ go through with your promise, won't you?" She asked. "You're not just fucking with me so I'll betray my family. Cause you know I can change my mind and side with them as quickly as I sided with you."

He slapped her then. "You do that and I'll kill you." He paused. "And that would be such a shame." He paused and slipped a hand under her shirt. "However, you'd make a pretty corpse. There's something that can be said for that. Don't you think?"

She groaned and shut her eyes. "I agree," she said. "But that's why I'm not that stupid. I'd much rather stay alive while the rest of my family is rotting in the ground."

"Good girl," he said and whipped her, grinning as she let out a cry. "Now, now," he said, kissing her hair. "Remember that you can't scream. We don't want Edele to come up here and find us, do we?"

"Oh, please," Freya told him. "I'm sure she already knows that we're fucking around. She's not stupid." She paused. "And if you think she's fooled, you're stupider than I thought. Or is it that you're just too scared to tell her? Come on, you can admit that to me. I won't tell anyone."

"Silence!" John ordered and whipped her so furiously that soon, she was slumped over with her face on her lap.

"Oh, silence at last," he said, kneeling in front of her as he brought her head up and licked the blood off her lips and cheek. "So beautiful." He then let her body drop again. She was breathing raggedly and struggling to untie herself. John rolled his eyes and ripped the rope off her, then let her fall to the floor, leaving her in a heap on the floor as he shut the door behind her and went back to the kitchen.

"So what ideas did you come with while you were upstairs?" Edele asked. "Any thing at all?"

"Ideas?" John asked. "What ideas?"

"To get the kids back," Edele said. "Since that's what you seem so determined to do."

"Ah," John nodded. "I completely forgot about that. I was…busy with other things."

"I'm sure you were," Edele replied, pushing him against the wall and kissing him. "Why don't you be busy with me for a while now? I insist."

"All right," John replied and stroked her neck. "You know I'd never turn down the chance to have a bite." He led her to their room and after laying Edele down on the bed, bit down deeply into her neck, sucking greedily and leaving Edele lying limp on the pillow as he stretched out beside her, a smile on his blood-covered face.

* * *

"Well, hello," Davina said brightly when Thomas called again.

"Hello," Thomas replied. "I just wanted to ask if you're planning on repeating what we did over the phone yesterday."

"Sure," Davina nodded. "If you want to. I know I enjoyed myself."

"Oh, my god!" Thomas cried after a few seconds of silence. "What are you trying to do, kill me? I already told you that I was sorry for what happened between us the first time we had sex. I don't know why I need to be tortured further."

"Why are you freaking out so much?" Davina asked. "It's not torture. How the hell is it torture?"

"Cause we're together, but we're not _together_ ," Thomas elaborated. "How can you not get that? And we never will be either."

"Why not?" Davina wanted to know. "What are you babbling about?"

"You know!" Thomas said. "Don't make me have to say it."

"No, I do _not_ know!" Davina shouted back. "You have to tell me! I'm not my sister Jill! Reading minds and being psychic isn't one of my powers."

"They're not?" Thomas asked. "I thought every witch could do that."

"Well, apparently we can't," Davina informed him. "Otherwise, dealing with you and your nonsense would be a hell of a lot easier!"

There was silence on the other end of the line, so she growled in frustration, and told him, "Fine. If you don't want me anymore, go ahead and say it so we can end this ridiculous charade."

"Did I say that?" Thomas shouted back. "Don't be an idiot and put words in my mouth!"

"Oh, so now I'm an idiot?" Davina asked, stomping her black ballet flat-clad foot. "You're really making a solid case for why I should be with you, aren't you? I would love nothing more than to show up at your house and slap your stupid face!" She did just that, appearing in Thomas' room, ripping his phone out of his hand, throwing it on the floor, and then kissing him. She ran her hands all over his body, and, he was surprised to feel, slipped her tongue in between his lips. When she was through with him, she pushed him down on the floor and stood over him with her hands on her hips. "There," she said. "I got what I came for. I feel much better now."

"That's it?" He asked, breathing hard. "That's all you wanted?"

"Yeah," Davina told him. "Sorry to disappoint you."

She began to walk away and he grabbed her, pulling her tight against him and kissing her again before biting her neck. "There," he said when he finally pulled away. "Now that I've had the last word, you can go on your merry way." He faced her forward, gave her a spank, and then watched as she disappeared just in time for Amelia to open the door.

"Is everything all right in here, Thomas?" His mother asked him.

"Yeah," he assured her. "Davina and I were just having a little…talk. That's all. You don't need to worry yourself."

"All right," Amelia told him, even though she knew there was more to it than he was saying. "But if you ever need any help on that front, you know you can just tell your father or me and we'll help you. You know that, right?"

"I'm not the one who needs help," Thomas told her. "But it's so good to know you're there for me. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome," Amelia replied and shut the door.

"So, problems with Davina, hmmm?" Andrew asked as Amelia stood next to him. "I can't believe that's all he told you. We heard that from all the yelling he was doing before!"

"Yes, I know," Amelia said and took Andrew's hand. "But I'm sure he'll tell us more eventually."

"I hope he does too," Andrew replied. "Hearing it directly is much easier than listening at the keyhole."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded and set her blonde head down on Andrew's chest. "It certainly is."

* * *

"Okay, this is your last chance," Davina said to Samantha. "You don't have to do this. You can stay home."

"No, that's not an option," Samantha told her as a honk rang out. "That's Stefan. I gotta go end a relationship, just like I said I was gonna do." She then walked to the door and was about to open it when it opened on its own and hit her in the face.

"Where's Samantha?" Stefan asked Davina when he saw her. "Could you tell her I'm here?"

"I know you're here, you moron!" Samantha told him from behind the door. "I heard your damn honking. You hit me with the fucking door! I think my nose is broken!"

"Oh, sorry," Stefan replied. "Here, let's get you to the hospital."

"No, we can't do that," Samantha said, her hand on her nose. "Just give me some blood and then we'll be on our way."

"Oh, come now," Stefan said. "I hurt you and I want to apologize. Let me take care of you, please?"

Samantha's eyes narrowed. "You broke my nose on purpose, didn't you?" She asked. "So you could pull this bullshit and I wouldn't be able to see Rocky."

"That's today?" Stefan asked, his eyes wide. "I came to ask you to go to Roxie's with me."

"Bullshit," Samantha told him, her voice nasally. "Now help me fix my nose! Don't just stand there!"

"Right," Stefan nodded. He picked her up and smiled at Davina, who was watching the pair with amusement. "See you later."

"Bye," Davina chuckled. "Take care of her, all right?"

"I will," Stefan assured her, then smiled down at his captive, who was balling her hand into a fist. "I promise, Davina."

"You suck," Samantha told him firmly as he took her out to his car. He buckled her in, and then they began the long drive to the boarding house.

Despite Stefan's efforts to keep Samantha away from her paramour, the revving of an engine sounded while he was giving her the coffee she ordered.

"What the hell is that?" She asked.

"It's Rocky," Samantha smiled sweetly. "I texted him your address while you were making me this."

"You weren't supposed to do that!" Stefan remonstrated.

"Well, if that's what you wanted, you should have broken my hand, not my nose," she smirked.

"It's not too late for me to do that, you know," he said, taking her pale hand in his and eyeing it thoughtfully.

"Don't you dare," she said in all seriousness. "I don't heal as fast as you do, and I would actually be laid up for a bit if you broke my hand."

"But just think…" Stefan told her. "You, me, alone here. Me taking care of you and nursing you back to health. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

"You wouldn't want my honest answer," Samantha said. "Now back away, would you?"

"Okay," Stefan promised. "Just let me do one thing first." He leaned down to kiss her and then heard a voice call out, "What the fuck is going on here?"

He turned then and smiled, saying over his shoulder, "Look, Samantha! Your friend is here!"

Rocky had a very typical biker look: dark hair in a crew cut, a tattoo of a blue and red dragon on his arm, dirty jeans on that were riddled with holes, and a Budweiser t-shirt under a black leather vest. He advanced on Stefan, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him upward so he was standing on his toes.

"What have you done with her?" He asked. "Her nose is broken."

"That was an accident," Stefan told her.

"Rocky, let him down!" Samantha said. "It's not a good idea for you to antagonize him."

"I'll do whatever the hell I like to anyone who hurts you," Rocky told her firmly. "First your parents and now this asshole. Am I the only decent person you know?"

"You're one of them," Samantha said. "However-"

"You're hurt," He interrupted. "You need to rest and not talk. Let us handle this."

"Yes," Stefan nodded and gave him a punch. "Let us handle it, Samantha."

So Samantha sat in bed and watched Stefan beat the crap out of Rocky until he was bruised and bleeding. She thought Stefan would kill him, but he let him limp from the room in defeat instead.

"That was very generous of you to let him live," Samantha said. "It's a shame he left before I had the chance to break up with him, though."

"Oh, come on, where's your heart?" Stefan asked with a smirk as he sat down next to her on the mattress. "The man was just beat up! Do you want to make him feel worse by breaking up with him?"

"But I thought you hated having him around because he's competition," Samantha pointed out.

"Nah," Stefan shook his head. "Now that I've met him, I think I could have some fun with him. Let's keep him around for a bit, and then once I'm bored, you can say that you're breaking up with him, and then I'll kill him. What do you think?"

"I think you're a fucking weirdo," Samantha replied. "But if it makes you happy, what the hell? It's not like I'll be able to stop you."

"You see?" Stefan said and kissed her. "This is exactly why I like you so much. You let me do whatever the hell I want and you don't judge."

"At least not aloud," Samantha told him. "Now, can I have blood to fix my nose or not?"

"Not yet," Stefan said. "Be patient. You'll get it in due time." He left then and Samantha groaned, drank her coffee, and pulled the covers over her head.


	15. Who Do You Trust?

**Rape Warning!**

"Why do you keep that girl around?" Edele asked John when they were getting ready for bed one night. "And is it her bed you're in when I wake up at night and find that you're not on the mattress next to me?"

"No," John told her smoothly. "Why would I want her when I have you?"

"Cause you're a man and she's much prettier and younger-looking than me."

"Oh, but you're younger," John reminded her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Edele asked. "Think about what I look like and what she looks like and you tell me which one of us came out of aging better."

"Do you want me to give you encouraging answers or not?" John asked irritably. "I find her attractive, so I offered to spare her life when I kill the rest of her family if she turned on them for me and she said she would. That's what happened. Are you happy?"

"No, I'm not!" Edele shook her head. "I did all this work to bring you back and let you fulfill your dream of being the most powerful person in existence and this is how you repay me? You know I don't like to be mistreated, especially by a man."

"I do," John nodded. "But unfortunately for you, you can't enact the same sort of vengeance against me that you have with all your other men. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Edele nodded. "I'll just have to find another way, won't I?"

"It seems you will," John nodded. "Good luck with that."

"Thank you," she told him smugly, an idea already forming in her head of what to do. "But I don't think I'm going to need it."

* * *

"Tell me the truth," Freya demanded of John when she went to see him after she was sure Edele had left and then they went up to his room. "Does your wife know about us? Am I in danger? Cause you promised me that I would be safe as long as I helped you defeat my family."

"She _does_ know," John said. "But don't you worry about that. She has something up her sleeve in terms of vengeance, but I'm sure it's nothing that you'll need to worry about."

"Well, that's reassuring," Freya said. "Now I only need to worry about what _you'll_ do to me."

"Why?" John asked. "It's not like you can die, is it?" He sat her down in a chair. "I can't really hurt you." He zapped up a knife and began stabbing her bare middle with it, over, and over, and over. Every time, the wound healed before he made another one. "See?" He said with a smile as she looked up at him from her fetal position on the floor. "No harm done."

"No," Freya said, staring at the knife, which suddenly flew out of his hand and lodged in his shoulder, and that made him let out a cry as she got to her feet. "No harm done. I have magic too…just so you know. A gift from your sister when she made us. My brothers got their magic taken away. But me and my sisters and mother…we got to keep ours. Isn't that fun?"

"Yes, it's fun," John smiled and pulled the knife out of himself, eyeing it thoughtfully. "If you thought this was going to intimidate me, it's not. It just makes me want you more." He reached up and pulled her down next to him. As she lay on the ground, staring up at him, he kissed her, his hand cupping her bare breast underneath her dress. "I want you in my bed," he said.

"Do you?" Freya smiled.

"Yes," John nodded. "I do. So will you come with me? If it's too much for you to move, I can also take you right here on the floor."

"How interesting that you're giving me a choice," Freya replied with a throaty chuckle. "I thought you didn't do that."

"Well, I know you'll say 'Yes', he said and kissed her. "It's not like I have anything to worry about."

"Just as a 'for instance', what would happen if I _did_ say 'No'?" Frey asked, pulling away from him. "What would you do to me then? Hurt me? Kill me?"

A sly smile curved John's lips as he looked into her eyes. "This really isn't a 'for instance' is it?" He asked. "You really _are_ going to refuse me."

"Just because I want to see what you'll do after," Freya replied. "And because I don't think you should have everything handed to you because of who you are. Other people might be scared of you, but I'm not."

"Not _yet,_ anyway," John replied, one eyebrow raised. He then brought Freya into his bed, ripped off her clothes, tied her wrists with the rope, put a gag in her mouth, and then compelled her to stay still as he unzipped his pants, parted her legs, and buried himself inside her over and over again, the sound of his wicked laughter ringing in her ears, both turning her on and sending shivers and chills down her spine.

* * *

Edele was still smarting from John's rejection so she decided to do what she thought would hurt him most: help the Mikaelsons. She made her way to Elijah's front door and changed her appearance to match Freya's before knocking. Then she waited for someone to open the door and let her in.

"Hi," she said to the woman with the big blue eyes. "I'm looking for my brother Elijah. My name's Freya. I believe we saw each other at a party a few weeks ago?"

"Oh, yeah!" the woman nodded. "I'm Selina, Elijah's wife. Come in! I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. He's been really worried about what your siding with the Phoenix would mean for the rest of the family."

But when they got to the living room, it wasn't Elijah she saw first. It was another blonde who came to hug her. "Hi, Freya!" She said. "It's been such a long time since we've seen each other! Did you come because you've decided to fight with us?"

"Um, yes," Edele nodded. "Now, this is going to sound like a horribly stupid question but…what's your name again?"

"Anna!" the blonde replied. "How could you forget my name? I know we've been apart for a long time, but I didn't think it was that long!"

"Oh, right, Anna," Edele nodded. "Sorry. It's that damn Phoenix's fault. He's been working on making me forget all of you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Anna said and hugged her again. "I'm sorry. I forgot that he'd been holding you captive. Forgive me?"

"Of course," Edele replied and hugged Anna again.

"Can I join in on this?" Selina asked before Anna pulled her in. "Elijah's gonna be pleased too."

But when they were all three sitting on the sofa together, Anna began studying the woman who'd shown up at their door. Something seemed off about her, and not just the fact that she had no idea who Anna was.

"So, tell me," Anna got out. "What the hell made you side with the Phoenix in the first place? Do you hate us?"

"No, I don't hate you!" Edele got out. "But can you blame me for wanting to save myself when John decided he was gonna kill us all? But I don't see why that's an issue since I'm here and have decided to be on the right side."

"I know why you turned against us," Anna replied. "It's cause Alexander's dead, isn't it?"

"Who?" Edele asked.

"Your twin brother?" Anna asked, frowning deeply. "The sibling that you loved the most out of all of us? The one you said out loud you would save above all the others? Is it that since he's not here and you can't stick up for him that you've turned against the rest of your family?"

"I don't know who you're talking about!" Edele cried. She was beginning to get irritated. Couldn't they just accept that she'd come to be on the right side and praise her for it already without her having to risk her safety by revealing who she really was?

"Who are you?" Anna asked and put her in a choke hold as she slammed her head against the wall and yelled for Selina to call Elijah and tell him to come home from Klaus' right away.

While Selina was doing that, Edele managed to choke out, "All right, I'm not your sister. Let me go and I'll show you who I am."

"You better," Anna spat. She let her fall to the floor and thought about what sort of dog she would turn this person into once they'd revealed themselves. It would be much easier to keep an eye on them that way.

Edele quickly turned back into herself and Anna seemed less than impressed. You stay here until my brother gets home," she ordered. "And then we'll talk about why you're here and what you want from us."

"That's fine with me," Edele shrugged. "Like I said, I came to help."

"Yeah, right," Anna scoffed. "I'll believe that when I see it."

When Elijah and Klaus returned, instead of just letting her sit while they calmly questioned her, Elijah picked her up by the throat, baring his teeth and shaking her as her feet dangled over the floor. "Who are you?" He hissed. "What do you want with us?"

"Oh, my god," Selina whispered. "I don't think I've been so turned on in a long time."

"Really?" Anna asked. "He doesn't act like this all the time? How boring is your life?"

"Be silent!" Elijah hissed as he turned and glared at them.

"Okay, geez," Selina assured him. "We will."

But then Edele used her magic to set him on fire so that he dropped her, and as soon as she was on the floor, the flames that were beginning to consume the sleeves of his suit jacket went out.

"All right," Edele said and rubbed her throat. "Now that we've all had time to be angry, let's talk like civilized people, okay?"

"We can, but I don't know about you," Anna said bitterly. "You're Edele McCullough. You've been terrorizing people for years."

"Well, I think it's a bit hypocritical of you to refuse to speak with me using that logic when the woman sitting next to you has a past just as troublesome as mine."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Selina told her.

"Yes, you do, Lonely Heart," Edele replied. "Don't lie."

"How the hell does she know about Lonely Heart?" Selina asked Anna. "I thought that was only a vampire thing."

"Oh, no," Edele shook her head. "Your notoriety spread a lot farther than you think. So, if you can align yourselves with her, why not me? I've decided to turn against John you know, because he seems to value your sister's company more than mine, and I want to make it clear that I won't stand for that."

"And you expect us to just take you at your word?" Klaus asked. "What, for instance, will happen with your loyalties if Freya decides to sever her ties with John? You'll go running back to him and betray us, won't you? It's too much of a risk to believe anything you say."

"Now wait just a minute!" Selina cried. "We have someone from the other side who is offering to be our in. Our protection. To give us an ace up our sleeve against the man who's terrified all of you because you know he can end our lives. Why can't we just trust her? If it turns out she's not lying, it would be a real asset."

"Listen to her," Edele told Elijah after locking eyes with him. "Your wife is speaking sense. Why don't you listen to her?"

"Because as much as I love her, she doesn't always make the best choices," Elijah replied. "She is not the one who's being threatened by your husband. We are. So therefore, I think that we, as a family, should decide how to deal with him.

"And once again, I'm not considered part of the family," Selina cried irritably. "Great. Just great. Fine, you know what? Fuck all of you. I'm gonna be in this by myself from now on if you don't want me."

Edele watched her go and then smiled. "You know," she said to Elijah, "You really seem to know how to treat a woman."

"He's always been like that with her," Klaus replied. "He can't really handle her darkness. It makes him uncomfortable." He began making his way down the hall toward the bedrooms and Elijah said, "Where are you going, Niklaus? Come back here!"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "Someone needs to get your wife in a better frame of mind and in the state you're in, you're certainly not going to do it. So you just continue plotting your plot that's so wonderful that you can't listen to anything Selina says and _I_ will stop her from feeling like she's gonna want to divorce you soon. And don't worry, I promise I'll leave the door open so you can hear everything."

Chuckling at the sounds of anger that came out of his brother, Klaus walked down the hall until he came to a door that was half open with sounds of frustration emitting from it. "Selina?" He said. "Can I come in?"

"I was hoping your brother would," Selina called back. "But since he's apparently in asshole mode, yes, you can come in."

He came in, and headed into the bathroom, turning into a wolf again, just as he had with Amy, and then went to rest his head on Selina's knee as she stroked his ears and petted his head. "I don't know why this is so hard for him," she got out. "I mean, I know it's stressful to face someone who can kill you, but that's all the more reason for Elijah to let me help plan, right? Or am I out of line? Am out of line?"

Wolf Klaus shook his head and sneezed.

"I knew it!" Selina cried. "I knew I wasn't out of line! I just want to help. What's so wrong about that? I'd be careful. I'm not so impulsive and stupid that I'd run into battle like a lamb going to be slaughtered. I'd take precautions to make sure I didn't die." She kissed wolf Klaus' head. "Why do I even bother? It doesn't matter to him anyway." She paused. "Do _you_ want me to help?" She asked.

Wolf Klaus nodded and licked her hand.

"All right," she said resolutely. "I'll do it for you, Nicky. Even if your stupid brother doesn't appreciate me, that's no reason to forego a chance to prove him wrong. Thanks for listening." She then straightened up and went back out to the living room to tell Elijah that she was helping them out of this mess whether he liked it or not.

"I never said you shouldn't," Elijah told her.

"Maybe not in those words," Selina told him. "But really, you did. And Edele, if they don't appreciate the effort you've made to help us, I do. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Edele smiled. "It's nice to know that at least _someone_ appreciates the risk I'm taking."

They then left just as Klaus, once again in human form, came to join Elijah and Anna. "So…" He said, smiling at his brother. "How pleased are you that thanks to me, your wife won't divorce you in the morning?"

"As always, I can't say I'm grateful for your interference, Niklaus," Elijah told him. "I'm going to most likely have a dead wife eventually because she's too foolish to stay out of harm's way and puts too much trust in the wrong kind of people. Thank you, Niklaus. Thank you very much."


	16. The First Day Of School

"Good morning," John told Freya as he came into her room, sat down on her bed, and ran his fingers through her hair with one hand and put a hand on her upper arm. "Edele's gone, so I guess you get the pleasure of my company this morning."

"No!" Freya shook her head and gave him a slap. "Not after yesterday. If you think you can get away with raping me like you did, I'd rather either be dead or be with my family!"

"Oh, but I never raped you," John assured her as he put his chin on her shoulder, blew in her ear, and she shivered. "It might have seemed like that, but it was all in your head. I wanted to make sure you knew there were consequences in case you ever got it into your head to betray me."

"You did _not_ just make me imagine it!" Freya replied. "It was real! I felt it!"

"Well, that's how powerful I am," John replied, making it seem like they were in a living room where her brothers Klaus and Elijah were, along with her sister Anna and a brunette with big eyes who Freya knew she'd seen before, but whose name she couldn't remember. "I can make you think things happened when they didn't, and feel so real that you'd swear you were there."

It was then that Elijah came toward her and took her hand, telling her how glad he was to see her. His hand was warm in hers, his smile bright and sparkling. But when she reached out to hug him, the image shattered and she found herself in the arms of John and not her brother.

"That's an awful thing to do to someone," Freya told him. "Are you just telling me all this because you want me to be nice to you again? How can I be sure it's not a lie?"

"Because I would never actually force myself on a woman," he whispered to her. "I don't need to. All I need to do is wait, and you'll come to me when you're ready. I'm a very patient man."

" _How_ patient?" Freya asked.

"Well, I need you," he told her and kissed her gently. "In more ways than one. So we have all the time we need, although I know that it won't take forever."

"I think you're very cocky and full of yourself," Freya told him.

"Maybe, but it's justified," he told her as he took her in his arms again. "I know that from experience."

Her hands began to wander over his shoulders and as far down his back as they would go. It was when she reached the latter spot that his body stiffened and he breathed in sharply. "What?" She asked. "What's the matter?"

His lips pursed and he shook his head as she looked over his shoulder and got a good view of his bare back, which was riddled with terrible long scars. "Oh, my god!" She said. "What…what happened to you?" She knew perfectly well what happened to him though: he'd been whipped. She'd seen her father do it on her brothers often enough. "Who would hurt you like this?"

"You know what? I think I'm done talking. And don't you touch me!" He ordered, pushing her away and getting to his feet after zapping on a shirt to cover himself. "If you want to eat, you'll have to do it by yourself." He started to leave and she put a hand on his arm. "You don't have to tell me what happened to you now," she told him. "If you can wait until I'm ready for you to fall in love with you, I can wait until you're ready to tell me how you got those scars. Because I know someday you'll trust me enough to say something."

He narrowed his eyes, pulled his arm out of her grip, and swore under his breath as he left the room, and she was left alone to muse about just what had been done to him, and who had done it.

* * *

"What did you and Niklaus do in our room yesterday?" Elijah asked Selina. "Did you make love to him?"

They were at the breakfast table with Drew and Stephanie, and when Drew heard, he choked on his orange juice while Stephanie spat hers out, her face twisted with disgust.

"For goodness' sake, do we have to talk about this now in front of everyone?" Selina whispered angrily. "No, I didn't! We just talked. He turned into a wolf and I vented my feelings of frustration to him. That's all."

"Well, you can't blame me for asking since you plan to go dark and I know that you _love_ to be around Niklaus when you're dark. Just don't hurt Amy, all right? She _is_ one of the few friends you have." He got up to go to the bathroom and Stephanie asked, "Did you really cheat on Daddy? That was a stupid move."

"I certainly did _not_ cheat on your father," Selina huffed. "I can't even be in the same room as your uncle without your father suspecting there's some sort of hanky panky going on."

"You want me to go talk to him?" Drew asked. "I was going to go meet Percy, but I suppose that can wait."

"No, you go," Selina told him. "You should have all the fun you can before school starts."

Astrid had finally managed to get the school for magical children open and in two days, the twins and their friends would be going to school for the first time in their lives.

"All right," Drew said and sat down. "If you're sure."

"I am," Selina told him. "In situations like this, it's better just to let your father be by himself."

* * *

"You don't still have your eye on Stephanie, do you?" Drew asked Percy as they sat in Malachai and Helene's living room, a bowl of popcorn between them.

"Well, I know you think I'm crazy and stupid for liking her because you think she'll never like me back, but you never know," Percy shrugged. "It could happen." He then called his sister Jill in to come and talk to them.

"Before you say anything," she warned, "If you ask me in here because you want me to tell you the future, just know that it doesn't always work."

"Well, can we give it a try anyway?" Percy asked her. "I want to prove to my doubter friend here that I'm going to win over his sister."

"All right," Jill sighed and took his hand. "But if you don't get the answer you want, don't blame me." She took his hand and looked it over. "Does the girl you want have dark hair and dark eyes like you?" She asked. "Cause it says here that you're going to be with a girl who has dark hair and dark eyes."

"That doesn't mean anything," Drew said. "It could be anyone!"

"Does it tell you anything else about her?" Percy asked. "Like, she'll start off cold and unfeeling toward me, but then be overcome by my kindness and charm and love me despite the fact that I don't seem worthy of her?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "It's never that detailed. But she _is_ a very important person, though."

"A very important girl with dark hair and dark eyes," Percy stuck his tongue out at Drew. "Sounds like your sister to me."

"You are so silly!" Drew told him. "How could you find someone like that attractive? She's a total snob!"

"I wouldn't mock him if I were you," Jill said with a smile. "You're gonna fall in love with her blonde friend."

"I will _not_!" Drew said insistently, his blue eyes flashing. "I don't like girls like that."

"It doesn't lie," Jill smiled and dropped his hand. "So I guess you'll see, won't you?"

* * *

On the first day of school, Selina had to drag Stephanie out of bed, but Drew was up early. During the drive, he expressed how eager he was to learn in the formal school environment.

"I'm not gonna have to spend _all_ my time with him, am I?" Stephanie asked her mother. "My friends would never stand for it. It's bad enough that both my parents are teachers. Having a nerdy brother is the icing on the cake."

"What's wrong with you?" Selina asked her. "Why are you so mean to your brother and everyone else? Oh, and you'll probably have your grandmother as a teacher too, for English Lit."

"Cause Daddy told me when I was a kid that I was the best and I shouldn't let anyone forget that," Stephanie told her. "I haven't."

"Don't worry, Mom," Drew told Selina. "She doesn't bother me, and I have no reason to want to be near any of her friends anyway."

But then, as Selina drove up to the school building, a pretty blonde in a knee length red dress approached the car and Stephanie opened the car door while it was still moving. "There's my friend Clarissa!" She cried. "Goodbye, Mom!"

"Wow!" Selina said, turning to face her son. "Did you know she had a friend named Clarissa?"

"No," Drew said as he looked at the pretty girl out the window. "But now I definitely want to try and hang out with Stephanie's friends." He paused. "You know, Percy's sister Jill, who's psychic, told me I would grow to like Stephanie's blonde friend. I guess she wasn't lying after all."

"You got a reading from a psychic?" Selina asked in amazement. "I never expected that from you."

"Well," Drew shrugged and pushed a strand of brown hair out of his eyes as Selina parked the car in the staff parking lot next to Elijah's black BMW and they made their way into the building. "Percy was trying to prove to me that he'd win Stephanie over, so while Jill was looking up stuff for him, I thought, 'Why not? I can do this for a laugh'."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "Okay." They got inside and she said, "Who do you see first?"

"Grandma," Drew said seeing that his first period class was Early American Lit with Ms. Lockwood. "She's not a hard teacher, is she? I remember hearing all about your difficult childhood. What if she's the same way with us? And why do they have her labeled as Ms. Lockwood?"

"Well, since so many of us that teach here are related by either blood or marriage, all us female teachers use our maiden names to differentiate between each other," Selina said. "Like I go by Ms. Warren even though I have your dad's name. Having two Ms. Warrens would be confusing so my mother is being called by _her_ maiden name, which is Lockwood."

"Ah," Drew nodded. "Okay, I get it now. And you don't think she'll be too tough a teacher?"

"I don't think she will, since she's teaching a subject she loves, but you see me after lunch, so if there's a problem, you can tell me then and I'll talk to her," Selina said. "Now, I'll spare you the embarrassment of being hugged by your mother where your peers can see you. Let's just shake hands and tell each other 'Good luck' and 'See you after lunch'."

Drew smiled and kissed her cheek. "Good luck and see you after lunch, Mom."

"You too!" Selina called after him, smiling as he gave her a salute and walked away and then when he had disappeared, she made her way to her classroom.


	17. If At First You Don't Succeed

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you," Freya told John. "I mean, I don't know exactly what it was, but my father was quick to use physical punishment to make a point. Not that he ever used it on _me_ , but I saw him use it on my brothers plenty of times."

"I thought we said we weren't going to talk about that," John told her through his teeth. "It's not something I'm comfortable discussing."

"Why?" Freya asked. "Cause it makes you seem like a normal relatable person instead of a superman? Is that what you need to feel good about yourself?"

"Yes!" John nodded. "I do, all right? Now, please stop talking to me!"

"And what if I don't?" Freya asked with a smile. "Are you going to bring Edele back and let her kill me? That can't happen, you know."

"Oh, I know," John told her. "I was there the day Father announced we were all gonna take human forms and live among the people who worshipped us as gods. I know all about my twin sisters' plans to outdo each other so they would take Father's place upon his death, and how they created werewolves and vampires to do it. Cause I was the guinea pig. Many years before you even existed!"

"How many?" Freya asked.

"I don't know a precise number anymore," John replied curtly. "But let's just say it was a lot and leave it at that. I don't want to get personal. That isn't what you're here for."

"Oh, come on!" Freya told him. "I bet you told Edele all sorts of personal things and you like me much better than you like her."

"What makes you think that?" John wanted to know.

"Well, if you liked her, you wouldn't have needed to bring me into the house, would you?" Freya asked with a smirk. "Am I wrong?"

John's eyes flashed and he tackled her. As they both landed hard on the floor, he looked down into her eyes and she gave a throaty chuckle. "I get you worked up a lot, don't I? What have I done now?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I brought you here for one purpose, and one purpose only: to use as leverage against your family so they'll do what I want them to do. There's nothing more to our relationship than that."

"Really?" Freya asked and reached up to put a hand on his cheek. "That's interesting. Cause from what you told me, it seems like you just plan to kill them all anyway, regardless of what they do. And you offered to save me. Because you like me."

John held the hand of hers that was warm against his cheek and kissed the palm lightly before nibbling on her fingers. "Liking someone for their beauty is not the same as liking them for their personality," he told her. "Don't get them confused because you'll find yourself in a very bad place."

"I'll remember that," Freya assured him as she stared intently into his eyes.

"I just hope you do," John said. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, then pulled away briefly before biting her lower lip and then sucking on it gently.

"How do I taste?" Freya breathed. "Good?"

"Well, I know I'm going to keep coming back for more, that's for sure," he replied. "Why don't you give me a try and see what you think?"

"Really?" Freya smiled. "I've been waiting for you to ask." And then, without further hesitation, she bit his neck and slowly licked up the good amount of blood that came from the wound. "This is like wine," she whispered. "Like sharp, strong red wine."

"Well," John moaned and shut his eyes, "is that a bad thing or a good thing?"

"A good thing," Freya assured him as she pulled away, his blood coating her lips, chin, and teeth as she grinned. "A very good thing. Can I have more?"

"Of course," he said. "Any time you want it."

"Wonderful," she panted as she helped him pull off his shirt and ran her hands over his abs as her lips blazed a trail that started just under his pecs and ended at the waistline of his pants. "Cause I've never met anyone who tasted so good." He liked Freya. He liked her very much. He didn't know where Edele was, and he didn't care. She'd come back eventually, he had no doubt about that. And that was good enough for him.

* * *

"I'm betting Klaus is letting you be part of this whole Phoenix fight thing isn't he?" Selina asked Amy. "Is he?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "Why? Isn't Elijah letting you?"

"No," Selina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I don't know why, though. I'm perfectly capable of fighting. I'm damn good at it."

"Well, have the two of you sat down and talked about why he doesn't want you to?" Amy asked.

"He says he's afraid that if he lets me fight, I'll get so far into my dark side that he won't be able to bring me back," Selina sighed. "But it's not the twenties anymore. I'm not as mad as I used to be. I'll be able to come back after a fight and be normal."

"Tell him that," Amy said.

"I've tried," Selina huffed. "It won't get me anywhere."

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," Amy told her. "Do it right when you get home so you don't forget."

"Oh, you better believe I will," Selina assured her.

* * *

And true to her word, when she got home, she stomped into Elijah's office, snatched the phone out of his hand, and slammed it down in the cradle. "You and I are having dinner together tomorrow so I can tell you why I want to help you all fight," she said. "Be there or be square."

"I was in the middle of a very important call!" Elijah told her, frowning deeply and wanting so badly to spank her. But he refrained cause he knew that in the current mood she was in, it wouldn't have the intended effect. "And haven't we already discussed this?"

"Yes, but I'm not happy with your answer," Selina told him. "So we're discussing it again."

"All right," Elijah replied without looking at her as he dialed the number he'd been talking to again. "But if you insist on this dinner, you're paying for it."

"You think I have a problem with that?" Selina asked. "The fact that you do just proves my point that you don't understand anything I have to say about equality between men and women in relationships and that's exactly why we need to talk."

"All right, all right," Elijah huffed impatiently. "Your point is made. Now can you go occupy your time some other way until dinner?"

"I will," Selina said, eyes narrowed. This would be the last time he would dismiss her so callously. She turned on her heel and strode to the door before putting her hand on the knob and turning back to face him. "You better believe I will." Then she shut the door, slamming it so hard that one of the pictures that was hanging fell from its hook and landed on the sofa.

* * *

"What's going on with you and Elijah?" Matthew asked Selina as she came in the house with an empty gun in hand. "I heard you yell his name before each shot. Do you need more ammunition?"

"We're just having a little fight, but I'm done letting off steam for now," Selina told him as she put the gun away. "He and his family are having some trouble and I want to help but he won't let me because I'd have to tap into the darkest parts of myself and that's a no-no for him." She sighed and collapsed at the kitchen table. "You would think he would realize by now that in situations like this, no matter how much he wishes otherwise, it's not my nature to just sit on my butt while other people go out and fight. Why do you think I took up arms in World War I? I want to feel like I'm accomplishing something, even if there's a risk to it and it _would_ be better for me to stay at home." She paused when she saw her father looking at her oddly. "What?" She asked. "You don't agree with him, do you? He blames my werewolf side for this attitude, which is why it worries him so much."

"No," Matthew shook his head. "You didn't get this particular attitude from your mother. You got it from me and Granddaddy Albert. You'd puzzle him so much because you know he wouldn't believe that trait would be in girls too."

"Yeah," Selina sighed. "Of course not." She paused. "Am I being too hard on him? Should I ease his mind and step back?"

"It's not up to me to make that decision for you," he told her. "You have to do what's right for you. Is it enough for you to make him happy? Is making him happy worth you being miserable and knowing that you missed out on doing something worthwhile?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Or this would be settled by now. I'm gonna make dinner for him tomorrow and we'll talk like normal, civilized people and see if it changes anything."

"I hope it does," Matthew replied and kissed her hair. "I hate it when you and Elijah fight. It just seems so wrong somehow. "

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It's really not good for either of us."

"At least not for a long period of time, anyway," Matthew told her. "Sometimes, a little conflict is good. It helps remind you how strong your relationship really is. You'll come out of this fight fine, just like you have all the others."

"I really hope you're right, Daddy," she told him. "I do."

* * *

Around seven o'clock the following night, the smell of chocolate brought Elijah out of his office and walking toward the kitchen. "Chocolate cake?" He asked, coming behind Selina and wrapping his arms around her while she whipped up a ganache. "We're having food too, right?"

"Yes," She nodded and then he watched as she tilted her head back, opened her mouth, and let some of the ganache drip from the spoon and land on her tongue. He thought she was going to spill some, but she didn't.

"Good?" He asked her.

"I'm making it," she told him. "Of course it's good!"

"Right," Elijah nodded. "Of course." He stepped away and asked her what sort of wine she wanted. "Would you like to do something a bit different and go with a red?" He asked. "Or are you going to stay with the white?"

"Well, I'm making some roast beef, so I suppose we could go with the red, right?" Selina asked. "You know more about that than I do."

"I do indeed," he nodded and went to look in the wine cellar until he located a bottle of 1990 Chateau Latour Pauilac. "Here you go," he said and put it down on the table. "This is a good one to toast our hopeful compromise with."

"Well, look at you," Selina smiled. "I thought you didn't compromise with anyone."

"I don't like to, but you've made me revisit that stance on occasion just for you," he said. "Just don't let it get out, okay?"

"So…how good is this wine?" She asked as he poured her a glass.

"Well, it cost me almost eight hundred dollars a bottle so it's very good stuff," he promised her.

She almost spit it out in shock when she heard this, but didn't want to waste it, so she swallowed it instead. "Wow," she said. "Usually, when I buy wine, it's only twenty bucks a pop at the most…which is probably why you do most of the wine buying in this house and not me." She said this last part to head off a remark about how it was obvious that she liked to buy wine on the cheap.

"What do you think of it?" He asked when she took her first taste.

"It's much better than I thought it would be," she said in amazement. "Who knew I could taste chocolate and fruit in red wine? This'll go well with everything on the menu." She looked at him with admiration. "You're good at this!"

"Thank you," He smiled. "It's a talent."

After they sent the twins on their way to enjoy a night of movies and fast food, they sat down to eat themselves and Selina said, "First…I would like to apologize for how pushy and angry I've allowed myself to become about this when there's no reason for it. It's just making it more difficult than it needs to be."

"Thank you for admitting that," Elijah told her. "I appreciate it." He cleared his throat and then poked at his potatoes before letting out a big sigh and saying, "And in turn, I suppose I must admit that I've been a little stubborn, demanding that you stay behind without explaining why it's so important to me. If I tell you why it's so important to me that you don't fight, would you be more likely to do as I'd like and stay out of the line of fire?"

"It depends," Selina replied and took another drink of wine, which went down the wrong pipe and made her cough.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah," she got out and coughed again. "Something just went down the wrong pipe, I'm fine. Now please tell me why you're so desperate to keep me home when you know (or should know after so many years) that I am a woman of action, so the last thing I want in situations of battle is to be left behind. And yet, that's exactly what you want of me now, so why?"

"Well, you remember the unfortunate way my first marriage ended, don't you?" He asked. "Please say you do, so I don't have to explain it again."

"When you first became a vampire, your thirst was out of control so you fed on your wife and children until they all died," Selina's voice was quiet. "I remember."

"Well, ever since that time, I've not had much of a taste for domestic life," Elijah continued. "I've had many relationships, some children that I can recall…but no one that really made me feel like I was part of a loving family with a wife and children until you came along. Watching my wife die was one of the most painful things I've ever felt in my entire life, and if I let you fight, I know I'm gonna have to go through that again: watching you die because as strong as you are, you're no match for a man who's determined to see our entire family go down in flames. And that's why, despite the fact that I know how much you hate being left behind, I insist that you do just that: to save myself pain and heartbreak and we can be together forever."

"But then how do you think _I_ would feel if I stayed behind like you wanted and for some reason, neither you, nor your brother, nor anyone else came home?" Selina asked. "Do you think I would enjoy living the rest of _my_ eternity alone?"

"It wouldn't bother you if I died," Elijah told her. "You could find any of hundreds of men to replace me with. I would just be a passing bit of your memory, soon forgotten."

"No!" Selina shook her head. "That's what you don't get! Do you know why I smile at you when I wake up and see your face every morning? Do you really know?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I don't."

"It's cause I'm so fucking grateful to wake up in a bed next to a man who loves me and cares about me and has given so much of himself to make sure that I don't spend my days lonely and miserable and feeling like no one cares." She said, her voice shaking. "And I don't think I could feel that with just anyone. I've _done_ the thing where I hop from man to man without forming any real emotional attachment. Maybe that was appealing one time, but it's not anymore. I have the real thing with you and it's just…" Her voice broke. "It's so upsetting that you think that you don't matter to me as much as I matter to you. That's why I feel what I feel: that if we're going down, we're going down together. Because I've passed the point of no return. There's no one in my life I want except you. So if you think you're doing me some sort of favor by letting me live while your life status is uncertain, you're not. You're really not." She sat down and downed what was in her wine glass before filling it again, her peace said. Elijah stared at her in stunned silence before getting up, coming around the table, and pulling her small, shaking, red-clad body into his arms and holding her tight. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her hair. "I had no idea. I don't know why, but I didn't."

"Now you do," Selina whispered, mascara running down her cheeks. "I'm gonna get the cake now if that's all right with you."

"It is," he said, ignoring the black stains on his shirt from her make up. "I think it's the perfect time for it. And then, before we go to sleep tonight, we'll come up with a battle plan."


	18. Building A Solid Foundation

"Where do you think Edele is?" Freya asked John. "She hasn't been around for a while."

"I know," John smiled. "Wonderful, isn't it? You and I get to have some privacy." He kissed her then and gave her a sly grin. "Privacy to do all sorts of things without fear of being interrupted."

"Sometimes I wish we were," Freya told him dryly. "But I don't get why you're so eager to see Edele go. I thought you liked her. And think of all she's done for you. Did you just show her fondness so she'd do what you wanted and then plan to toss her aside like a used tissue?"

"Of course not!" John told her. "Why do people always think that you can only love one woman at a time? I have it in me to love as many women as I can."

Freya snorted when she heard this. "Be careful what you wish for," she advised. "You could get yourself into trouble."

"No, I won't," John said confidently. "I have everything under control."

"Okay," Freya agreed, although she thought he was being incredibly stupid. "Whatever you say."

John then took her hand and led her to the bedroom. "Would you like to undress first?" He asked. "Or should I? It really doesn't matter to me either way."

"Of course not," Freya replied. "Cause you're either showing off what you think is your splendid form, or you get to see mine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked. "Are you saying that I'm not a marvelous physical specimen?"

"If I did, would it matter when you tell yourself the exact opposite all the time?" Freya pointed out.

"Well, not much, but it's still nice to know that someone else feels the same," John said.

"Oh, you men and your egos," Freya sighed. "Let's talk, shall we?"

"No!" John groaned. "I don't want to share my feelings! Why do you keep wanting to do that? What will it accomplish?"

"That's what you have to do if you want to have a relationship!" Freya replied. "You have to get to know each other on a deeper level. Surely you and Edele had conversations like that. If you can do it with her, why can't you do it with me?"

"Because I just don't want to!" John snapped. "Why don't we go to bed first, and after we've done that, _then_ we can talk about all the feelings you want. Agreed?"

"Okay," Freya sighed. "Let's get this over with."

"And you wound me again!" John exclaimed. "What is your problem?"

"Just trying to keep you modest," Freya told him with a wicked smile as she zapped off his clothes, giggling when he instinctively gasped, his eyes widening as he put a pillow in front of his crotch.

"You are so cute!" She giggled. "You don't have to be embarrassed in front of me!"

"I'm not," he told her, even though he was blushing as he put the pillow back on his bed. "That was just a reflex after I found myself naked so suddenly."

"What a shame," Freya shook her head and clicked her tongue as she stripped off her clothes. "Cause I find vulnerability to be very endearing."

"It's good to know that, but I don't know if you'll ever get that from me," he told her. "I don't care how endearing you find it."

"All right, all right," Freya replied and then shook out her hair before putting her arms around his neck and kissing him slowly. She then pulled away teasingly and he kissed her again. She began running her hands all over his body and as her tapered nails caressed the rough scars on his back, a vision came to her head of a small boy sobbing loudly as his hands were being tied behind his back and he was being pushed faced first against a wall. He wore nothing but a sheet of some sort tied below the waist and he screamed loudly for his mother as a whip got brought down repeatedly on his bare back, blood spurting on the face of the fearsome, dark-haired man with the bushy dark beard who stood behind him. Four women stood watching the spectacle: Two blonde women watched this happen with concern while two smaller girls, one redhead and one brunette, watched with almost ghoulish glee.

Finally, the older woman came and put a hand on the man's arm. "All right, Conal," she told him in a soft voice. "That's enough. You've made your point."

Conal paused the whip and strode over to the little girls who were standing together and giggling. "Enid? Ena? Do you think your brother has been punished enough for what he did to you today?"

"No!" Said the redhead. "Do it some more, Papa! He can still stand up!"

"Ena, that's enough!" Her mother told her sharply. "Whatever he's done to you, he doesn't deserve to die for it!"

"Yes he does!" Ena pouted. "He's better at magic than me!"

"Well, maybe if you would study like he does, you'd be good too," her blonde sister said. "But you're lazy, which is why you aren't getting anywhere with your powers."

"Who asked you?" Ena asked and then stomped her foot before taking her father's hand. "Come on, Papa!" She pulled him after her and just as the two blondes cuddled the dark haired boy, the image was broken and she found herself looking into John's shocked dark eyes. "How much did you see?" he asked in a sharp voice.

"N-nothing," Freya stammered as she leaned back from him a little. "I didn't see anything, I swear."

She looked away and he put both hands on either side of her face, moving her neck so she was staring directly at him and couldn't look away. "How much did you see?" He repeated. "I don't know how we'll get anywhere if all you do is lie to me."

"Okay, I saw more than you'd probably want me to," she confessed and began working her fingers through his dark hair. "That red-haired sister of yours was damn bloodthirsty, wasn't she?"

John chuckled when he heard this. "That's an interesting turn of phrase to use when describing dear Ena," he said. "She _was_ always quite bloodthirsty and made a race of creatures who were much the same way." He grinned widely. "I believe you knew her as Vanessa when she changed you."

"Oh, my god!" Freya cried. "That…that little redhead made vampires?"

"Yes," John nodded. "And the other one, the brunette, that was Enid. _She_ made werewolves. But before a single one of either species walked on this planet, they first tried out the spells on me. Just to try and show me that they were more powerful than I would ever be, because boys weren't supposed to be more powerful than girls."

"My god," Freya said, shaking her head and trying to resist the urge to hug him. "I thought I would make you feel better by telling you about what an outcast I was in my family because I had a different mother than most of them. But now, knowing the sort of things you faced, I don't think that would help you much, would it?"

"No," He said. "Words are just words." He took her hand, put her palm on his bare chest, and dragged it up and down slowly.

She put her free hand on his scruffy face, the feeling of the rough stubble against her palm, the slight pain of it, making her shiver. He then grabbed both her wrists and they stared each other for a long moment before he pushed her back on her back on the carpet and got close enough to her so that they were nose to nose. "Let's not talk anymore. I've had enough of that, don't you think?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I do. Just kiss me."

"All right," he agreed. Then their lips touched and her legs parted as he buried himself inside her and she threw her arms around his neck, hoping to see more of his past. But he'd blocked her out, and she felt nothing but the intense pleasure of physical release as he pulled out of her and buried himself inside her over and over again.

* * *

"I can't say I don't look forward to our little phone conversations," Thomas told Davina. "Do _you_ look forward to them?"

"I do," Davina replied. "A nice little way of being together while we have to be apart."

"Well, you know, we don't _have_ to," Thomas told her and she let out a surprised squeak when he appeared in her room, took her in his arms, and kissed her. "I can come here easily."

"But you know it's too soon, right?" Davina asked and gave him a push and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just an image in her head and he wasn't really there.

Thomas disappeared and she heard his voice, the voice of the _real_ Thomas on the other end of the phone line again. "I know it's too soon. But when will it _not_ be too soon anymore? I'm not trying to pressure you. I just want a little guesstimate."

"I don't know," Davina got out. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't because I just don't know. But your patience will be rewarded, I promise."

"All right, I trust you," Thomas told her. "Lucky for me that your voice is as beautiful as your face."

Davina let out an awkward giggle at this and then said, "Thank you. I don't know what the hell it was that just came out of my mouth, but I promise it won't happen again."

"I didn't mind it," Thomas told her. "I think it's cute."

"So," Davina told him. "Are you wearing a red shirt, a blue shirt…no shirt at all?"

"Do you really want to do this tonight?" Thomas asked "I was really thinking that we could just talk tonight instead."

"I suppose we could do that," Davina agreed. "Because getting to know each other well is an important part of a good, solid relationship."

"Okay," Thomas began. "Favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Strawberry," Davina got out. "You?"

"Rocky Road," Thomas said fondly. "The first flavor that wasn't plain old chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry."

"Favorite color?" Davina asked. "Mine's purple."

"Green," Thomas said. "Day person or night person?"

"I'm a day person," Davina said. "After the asylum being so dark, I really don't like nighttime." She paused. "But let me guess: you like the nighttime since you're a vampire."

Thomas then did a really bad imitation of Dracula's accent: "Children of the night. What beautiful music they make."

"Was that Dracula?" Davina asked. "That was awful!"

"But you knew who it was," Thomas said brightly. "That's the important thing." They talked a little longer until they were finally interrupted by Andrew on his end of the line.

"Sorry to break up the conversation," he said. "But if you want dinner, Thomas, it's time. You know how your mother likes punctuality at the dinner table."

"Right," Thomas agreed. "Am I gonna need to grab my dinner jacket?"

"No," Andrew assured him. "She's letting us be casual with our lasagna." He paused. "Sorry, Davina," he said to her. "How long until you join us for dinner?"

"She doesn't know, but it'll take some time," Thomas replied.

"What a shame," Andrew replied, sounding genuinely sad. "I really liked having you around."

"I liked being around you too," Davina told him. They ended the call and after she put the phone down, she began to wonder if she was being unreasonable about how long she was requiring Thomas to be separated from her. He really wasn't so bad. And she _really_ wanted to join him and his parents for dinner.

A knock on her door broke into her thoughts as Victoria poked her head in. "Dinnertime," she told her. "If you actually want something to eat, you might want to make a run for it."

"All right," Davina nodded and got to her feet. "Thank you for telling me, Victoria. I'll follow you to the table."


	19. Testing The Waters

"Would you mind if I invited someone to dinner tonight?" Thomas asked Amelia. "Or would it be too much of an imposition?"

"Of course it wouldn't," Amelia told him. "Are you thinking of inviting Davina over?"

"Maybe," Thomas said as he averted his eyes and shuffled his feet.

"Don't embarrass him like that," Andrew chided his wife.

"Oh, stop!" Amelia replied. "If I hadn't asked, you would have!"

Andrew paused a moment then nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong," he told her.

"Is there anything specific Davina would want to eat?" Amelia asked. "Does she know she's being invited?"

"Not yet, but we've talked about it before, so it's not like it'll be entirely out of left field," Thomas told her.

Then Andrew took Amelia's hand and led Amelia to a corner. "Maybe we should go out and let Thomas and Davina have dinner to themselves," he suggested. "It's not going to be as fun if he has to eat with his parents, and it's been some time since we've gone out on our own, anyway."

"All right," Amelia nodded. "Let's do it."

When they told Thomas of their decision, he smiled. "Thanks," he said. "That's really nice of you."

"Just promise you'll keep the house in one piece, okay?" Andrew asked. "Or at least tell her to use her powers to fix whatever gets broken." He paused. "Oh, and one more thing: If you want beer, you'll have to go out and get some more. Your uncle stopped by the other day and drank more of it than I've ever seen him drink. He's having a rough time because your cousin Sarah has discovered boys."

"But he's _already_ a father to Selina," Thomas pointed out. "Surely that prepared him for his daughters dating."

"Nope," Andrew shook his head. "Died when Selina was little so he missed out on all that."

"Ah," Thomas nodded. "Okay, no wonder."

* * *

After his parents had left to run some errands, he called Davina and asked her to come.

"Well, this is a little short notice, isn't it?" Davina asked. "What makes you think I'll be available?"

"Are you?" Thomas asked. "If you're not, just tell me. And if you are, just tell me so and get your butt over here so we can have a romantic evening."

"Oh, yeah, I really want to have a romantic evening with a man who _orders_ me to have a romantic evening with him," Davina shot back. "That makes a whole lot of sense."

"This could be one of the few times we get to be alone!" Thomas informed her. "My parents are gone and everything!"

"And that's supposed to be a motivator for me to come?" Davina asked. "I think I would prefer to be chaperoned."

"Oh, I am _not_ that bad!" Thomas cried. "And would you really want to pass up a chance for one of those eclairs that they have at the French bakery downtown? Cause I was thinking of getting that for dessert. And I'm gonna make steak too."

"Fine, I'll come," Davina sighed in a long-suffering way. "See you then."

* * *

When Davina showed up at the door, she was dressed in a red dress that went down to her knees, matching shoes, and a white cardigan. "Hi!" She said with a smile as she noted his dark pants and blue sweater over a white button down shirt with pale blue stripes on it. "You look nice."

"So do you!" Thomas returned. "I hope you're good and hungry." He then paused and sniffed. "Why do I smell French fries?"

Davina gave him a sheepish look as she pulled a bag from behind her back. "I didn't feel like steak so I got some McDonald's on the way over here. I hope that doesn't bother you. I'll still have room for the éclair!"

"You did this to make me angry, didn't you?" He asked, pulling her inside and having to catch her when she lost her balance and fell forward. "If you didn't want steak, you should have said something!"

"If my steak is small, I'll probably still have room for it," Davina said and then reached into the bag after getting her balance. "Want a fry?"

Thomas shook his head furiously. "No, I do not want-" He paused as Davina waved the fry in his face. "Oh, all right," he said, snatching it from her and sticking it in his mouth and screwing up his face before chewing furiously. "Come on," he said once he'd swallowed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen where the table had been set out nicely, and there was even a lit candelabrum in the middle.

"How fancy!" Davina exclaimed, standing next her chair and waiting.

When Thomas sat down with a smirk on his face, he said, "What are you standing there for? If you don't sit down and eat, your food will get cold!"

Davina stuck her tongue out at him as she pulled out her chair and sat down. "I thought you were gonna do the gentlemanly thing and pull my chair out for me."

"I thought you could do that yourself," Thomas replied. "You want me to cut your meat up for you too?"

"No, I can do that," Davina assured him. Then, just to see the look on his face, she said, "I wouldn't mind help taking a bath though."

When Thomas heard that, the wine he was drinking came out of his nose and he began choking on spit that went down the wrong way.

"Oh, my god!" Davina said as she left her chair and came to hit him on the back. "I was just making a joke! I didn't intend to kill you!"

"I bet you did!" Thomas told her when he could speak. "And I bet you don't feel bad about it either. I'm old! I have a weak heart!"

"Stop that!" Davina told him as she sat back down. "You're so over dramatic! Just eat your steak and try not to have a heart attack!"

They ate in silence after that, but occasionally sneaked glances at one another and Davina even let herself have _more_ fun at Thomas' expense by playing footsie with him under the table. But this time, it didn't faze him and he just played with her, which led (after the dinner dishes had been cleared) to them dancing to the radio in their stocking feet and then, when Andrew and Amelia finally returned home, offering them leftovers before kissing each other deeply at the door before Davina left to head back to Kai and Victoria's.

* * *

"What do you think of having that Edele on our side now?" Selina asked Elijah. "Do you trust her?"

"Not in the least, no," Elijah shook his head. "Which is why I'm glad she's mostly Kol and Kai's problem, and not ours. But I have to give her points for realizing that she couldn't just stride in as herself and hope to be brought into the fold."

"It wouldn't have hurt her to do a little research on the family first," Selina nodded. "Anna saw through her right away."

"At the same time, I think it will be good to have her around," Elijah pointed out. "She knows a lot about the Phoenix and if she came to _us,_ there's clearly some sort of trouble going on between them that we can use to our advantage."

"Sounds like a plan," Selina nodded. "What do you want me to do? Awaken the beast? Or do you want more time to mentally prepare before I do that? Oh, and I need more blood bags."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "I'll get those set up for you. And thank you for telling me when you run out. I always wonder if you will since it's easier to just go catch someone, but you surprise me every time."

"I'm happy to," Selina smiled. "You know that. Now…what should I do?"

"I suppose you could go see if Astrid and Alistair need any help," Elijah replied. "And in answer to your question, yes, I will need time to mentally prepare myself before you let yourself go to the dark side. How easy do you think it will be for you to come back?"

"Oh, much easier since I'm not angry like I used to be, I swear," Selina assured him. "You don't need to worry about that."

But just to make sure she wasn't misleading him, she sneaked over to Anna's instead of helping Astrid and Alistair and asked if she wouldn't mind going hunting with her.

"I thought Elijah didn't like you doing that?" Anna said. "I mean, I would love to go hunting with you, but…"

"I'm doing it for a good cause," Selina explained. "He's all worked up about whether or not I'll be able to pull back if I let myself go and I won't know unless I try, will I? I mean, I'm very sure I will, but you never know."

"That's a good point," Anna replied. "Let's go. And if Elijah gets upset, you'll take full responsibility, right?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I won't let him heap all the blame on you."

* * *

So they went and caught a few people, drinking with abandon. After they were drained, Anna made the bodies disappear and they cleaned themselves up with wet naps that Selina had in her purse before driving back to Selina and Elijah's house just in time for him to pull in the garage.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted them. "I know the two of you together means only one thing. Am I going to need to lecture?"

"No, she was _very_ well-controlled this time," Anna reassured her brother. "And there weren't a lot of people in the woods to catch us."

"Between the two of you, how many people did you kill?" Elijah asked.

"We each had one and then we shared a third," Selina said calmly. "And then Anna used her magic to make the bodies disappear."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief. "I never would have guessed. You seem so at ease!"

"I knew I would be," Selina nodded. "Which is why, although I'm not making any promises, when push comes to shove and I really have to go dark, you won't have to worry about whether I can come back to myself or not. I hope this relieves your mind."

"You know, actually it…it kind of does," Elijah nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Selina told him and kissed him even in front of Anna. "That was the entire point of this exercise." She then pulled away from him. "Are you gonna need me for the next couple of hours? Cause I haven't taken advantage of any of my store accounts lately and I think that with your sister here, it would be as good a time as any. I found this gazillion dollar purse I want really really bad!"

"What a good idea!" Anna smiled. "It's been a while since I've been shopping. And please tell me we're spending Elijah's money and not yours. I know you like paying for your own stuff, but the other way is just so much more fun!"

"Yes, it's with my money," Elijah nodded at his sister. "I set up accounts for her at a list of stores she gave me and then I pay the bill at the end of the month. It's our little compromise when it comes to who gets to buy things for whom."

"Wow, he's good to you!" Anna remarked.

"Yeah," Selina smiled at Elijah over her shoulder. "He is."

* * *

"Such a shame you were dumped, brother," Stefan told Damon. "I never thought I'd see the day. Usually that's what _you_ do."

"I know, but if I have to make a choice between staying alive and getting burned to death because Lucy's got an admirer who can shoot fireballs when angry, I think the choice is an obvious one," Damon told him. "In my place, you'd do the exact same thing."

"That's true," Stefan agreed. "I'm not an idiot."

"So what's the girl who dumped you like?" Samantha wanted to know. "Some girl who's way too smart and eventually realized she was too good for you?"

"No," Damon shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Lucy and I have actually been together for a while and things…things just ran their course. The guy who breathes fire was just what we needed to actually realize it would be best to end things."

"And yes," Stefan told Samantha. "If he hadn't known her from her birth, she probably _would_ be the sort of woman who would realize immediately that she was too good for him and stay the hell away."

Samantha chuckled. "What happens now?" She asked Damon. "Are you gonna get back on the horse or what?"

"I will," Damon nodded. "But I need some time first. And a few nights with some good friends."

"What sort of friends do you attract?" Samantha questioned. "And are they visible or just a figment of your imagination after you've had an entire case of beer?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "You know what?" He asked as he got in her face. "I don't like you."

"Oh, it's not like I've not heard that from a host of other people," Samantha replied. "It doesn't bother me."

"Some people would take that as a hint," Damon told her.

"Well, you obviously didn't," Samantha pointed out. "Why would you expect other people to?"

"All right, enough!" Stefan huffed. "If you two keep fighting, you'll have to go home, Damon."

"I can't," Damon reminded his brother. "I was unceremoniously kicked out of my home when it was set on fire. Haven't you been listening to our conversation the last few minutes?"

"Right," Stefan sighed. "Well, if you can't stay in here without picking a fight, find somewhere else to be."

"Oh, no, no!" Samantha said and stood up. "I'm gonna be leaving in a few minutes anyway. You two can stay and talk without me."

"And where is it you're going?" Stefan wanted to know. "To see Rocky? I thought you broke up with him."

"And what if I didn't?" Samantha asked. "What's it to you?"

Stefan opened his mouth to give an outraged reply, but anything he said was drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle, so all he saw was Samantha giving him a smirk and a little wave before leaving the house. Once she was gone, he kicked the leg of a chair and sat down at the table with a huff.

"So…" Damon asked with a grin. "Just _who_ is Rocky? A guy with a motorcycle obviously, but I want to know more than that."

"He was an old boyfriend of Samantha's," Stefan said. "Her infatuation with him made her parents mad and her plotting to run off with him was the last straw before her parents stuck her in the asylum."

"What are you gonna do about him?" Damon asked. "Are you going to fight for your woman? I bet you could kill him pretty easily if you wanted…unlike _my_ rival for Lucy."

"I intend to this time," Stefan nodded. "Or maybe I'll wait a bit. I don't know."

"Go ahead and do it now," Damon replied. "Go after him. Beat him until he's dead. You'll be glad you did. And don't worry about me. I'll be inviting six friends over so I've got a full night planned."

"I bet you do," Stefan nodded as he went to grab his coat. "Just remember to throw the bottles away once you've finished with them."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon nodded and waved him away. "I won't forget how you like to keep a neat place. And I'm no slob myself."

Once Stefan was gone, Damon took his car (cause apparently, he decided that using his powers to go after Samantha would be quicker than driving) and headed to the supermarket where he bought not _one_ six pack of beer, but two. And as he made his way back to his car, someone ran into him and sent them both tumbling to the ground.

"Shit!" he muttered before he could get a good look at the person. "You better hope none of my beer bottles are broken!"

"Sorry," a voice apologized. It had an odd tone, like that of a girl pretending to make her voice more masculine. Damon sat up and saw a young person in a jean jacket, a red shirt, torn khaki pants, and a dark cap, which hung over their eyes. "Let me help you up."

The person reached for Damon's hand to help him to his feet, but then when he was up, they reached around, grabbed his wallet, and took off.

"Hey!" Damon shouted after he took the time to put the beer in the trunk. He began running and noticed some papers that were flying around in the night air. He grabbed both of them and ran after the thief. Since he used his vampire speed, it wasn't hard. When he had the person pinned to the ground, he held out the papers, which seemed to be news articles. "I think you dropped these," he told the person, who seemed to be a boy. "Now, can I have my wallet, please? What the hell were you thinking? What's your name?"

"You didn't read these articles, did you?" Asked the boy. "They're the key to finding my birth father. My other one beat me so I ran off." He got to his feet.

"No, I didn't read your personal papers," Damon assured him. "Unlike you, _I_ have boundaries." He paused, "What's your name?"

The boy reached up nervously to make sure his hat was in place and then said in that strange tone of voice, "My name's Brian. I just…I'm sorry about your wallet. I don't have any money and I just wanted a burger."

"All right," Damon sighed and took out a twenty. "Here, take it," he insisted. "You went to all that trouble to steal from me. I don't want you to go away with nothing."

"Thanks," Brian said. "What's your name?"

"Damon," he told him. "Damon Salvatore."

"Thanks, Damon Salvatore," Brian told him. "I'll pay you back sometime. I take odd jobs, so you'll get your money."

After Brian strode off, Damon shook his head, got in the car, and drove home, really, really glad that none of the beer had been wasted. If it had been, that boy would have had _a lot_ more to answer for.


	20. A Woman Scorned

"I'm home!" Edele called as she came into the house and shut the door behind her. John and Freya were making loud love and her words gave them an opportunity to stop and cover themselves up with a blanket on the living room sofa.

"Well, isn't this nice?" Edele asked as she looked upon them. "Now that I'm back we can be three again." She narrowed her eyes at Freya. "Or two, depending on how generous I'm feeling.

"Don't get any ideas," Freya said, her eyes narrowed. "I'm really not the sort to share. I thought that with you gone, we might actually get some peace and quiet. And you can't kill me, if that's what you have in your head. "You know you can't. Not only can I not die, John likes me better than you, so there's no way I'm going anywhere.

Edele chuckled. "I'd be careful with him if I were you, cupcake," she told Freya. "You may be one of the oldest vampires of all time, but I've spent much more time with him than you have. I know everything that goes on in his head. You're the one who's at risk here, not me."

"Edele?" John told her. "Can we talk for a moment, please?"

"Of course," Edele nodded, looking at the pair of them with disdain. "But you might want to put some pants on first. When you've dressed, I'll be waiting for you in our bedroom."

She strode off and then John gave Freya a kiss before zapping his clothes on. "Don't worry," he assured her easily. "This won't take too long. I'll be back soon."

"Good," Freya smiled. "Cause you know I don't like to be kept waiting."

John gave her a small smile and then headed to meet Edele.

* * *

"Okay," he said when he shut the door behind him and faced his lover, who was standing against the bed with her arms crossed. "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"I can't believe you're asking me that when it should be obvious!" Edele cried. "Do you think I'm stupid? Why do you think that I'm just gonna allow you to have that girl in our house!"

"Don't refer to her as 'that girl'," John requested. "She's older than you are." He paused. "She just doesn't look it."

"If you're trying to make me feel better, it's not helping," Edele replied. "Here's what I wanna know: when are you going to kick her out?"

"Well, I don't know," John told her. "I thought 'never' would be a good time."

"So you were just thinking of having us both in the house with you together?" Edele huffed. "What makes you think you'll be able to get away with that?" She shook her head. "I really feel used. I bring you back, I go to all that effort to make sure you have several children to carry on your name in case someone comes back to challenge you, and what do I get in return? Replaced by another woman! That was your plan all along, admit it. You didn't _really_ think the two of us would live with you happily. You're not that stupid. Or at least I hope you aren't."

"All right, fine," John told her. "Maybe that was the plan. What will happen now that you know? You can't leave. No one outside of me trusts you enough to let you close to them because you've burned all your bridges."

"Oh, not all of them," Edele shook her head. "I have some other options besides lying down and taking this. And I intend to look into them."

"Fine," John smirked and gave a little chuckle as his dark eyes sparkled. "You do that. Good luck and see you back here soon."

* * *

While John chuckled behind her back and made use of Freya, Edele thought about what she should do now.

John had been right when he'd said that her behavior had burned a lot of bridges with people besides him, but she would be damned if that meant she'd come crawling back to him and that Viking-age Lolita of his. She knew she could do better than that. Taking a deep breath, she zapped herself to the Council building, and bullied Astrid's secretary until she was allowed to see her, and when she got through the office door, she found herself face to face with James O'Connell.

"Well, well," he said and backed her up against the wall. "I was hoping that I'd be able to catch you and haul you back here where you belong. You're too much of a danger anywhere else."

"Where's Astrid?" She asked him. "And have you really just been standing here in her office waiting for me to show up? I thought you'd have better things to do than that."

"Actually, I don't," James told her as he grabbed her and cuffed her. "You don't realize what a big threat you are, do you? Or do you just not care?"

"You're an even bigger idiot than you think _I_ am!" Edele cried. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to come back here without a good reason?"

"Would that good reason be that you decided to do the decent thing and turn yourself in to save all magickind?" James asked.

"No!" Edele shook her head. "I came because I have information. Does Astrid know that the Phoenix has been brought back to life? I'm in the mood to help her catch him. I wasn't at first; in fact, I was the one who brought him back in the first place. But now he's turned on me and I hate him, so I'm willing to cut a deal and help the Council, but I can't do that from a jail cell now can I?"

James turned her around to face him, his blue eyes steely. "Why should I trust you?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Edele said. "If Astrid hadn't given you one, you'd still be toiling in your own personal loveless hell with no one's respect, wouldn't you? Don't be an idiot and give me the chance that Astrid gave you."

"Sit in this chair while I go and get her," James told her, eyes narrowed. "Don't you move a muscle."

"All right, fine," Edele said, sitting down and crossing her legs at the ankle. "You go and get Astrid and I'll stay here. You have my word."

James gave her a long look and then opened the door and called out. Soon, a woman with blonde hair and big dark eyes strode in. "What is it that you want, James?"

"You see her, Lenora?" James asked. "Watch her while I go get Astrid."

"Do you have to do that now?" Lenora asked. "She's in the middle of a meeting." She turned and looked at Edele. "Although, when she finds out that Edele McCullough is here, she'll probably be more than willing to postpone the meeting."

"That's what I thought too," James nodded. "Watch her like a hawk, will you? She claims she won't get away and all she wants to do is help us cause she and the Phoenix have had a falling out, but who knows if she can be trusted?" He left to seek Astrid out then, leaving Lenora and Edele alone together in his office.

"So…" Edele got out. "You're the wife of Mr. Black."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "But he doesn't really go by that anymore. When you said you came to us to help, did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it," Edele nodded. "But I understand why he doesn't believe me. And I suppose that spite is not exactly the best reason to change sides. I suppose you would prefer that I did it out of the goodness of my heart and that I repent for everything bad that I've done in the past, but a person has to start somewhere, don't they?"

"They do," Lenora nodded. "They do."

* * *

When James returned to the office with Astrid and Alistair behind him, he found his wife and Edele sitting next to each other and drinking coffee.

"How did you do it?" He asked in amazement. "How did you keep her here?"

"All we did was talk," Lenora told him as she stood up. "We had some very interesting conversations. Do you all want coffee before Edele explains why she came?"

"I don't need any," Astrid replied.

"Me neither," Alistair added. "What are you doing here, Edele?"

"Well, my original plan was to partner up with the Phoenix and our children to take down vampire kind and then the magical world as well, but he's changed the plans a little," Edele explained. "He wants to do it, just not with me."

"So he's gonna do it alone?" Alistair asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No, he's doing it with a woman named Freya who's a member of the Original family," Edele said. "He promised her that if she helped him, he'd spare her when he killed the rest of her family. Now, I think we all know that he's not saving her purely out of the goodness of his heart, so he has other plans for her, but I don't know what they are."

"And since he seems to have moved on from you, it wouldn't do us much good to send you under cover to try and get information on those plans, would it?" Astrid asked as she tapped her nails on her desk.

"No, it really wouldn't," Edele shook her head. "And even if it _did_ have a chance of working, there is no way I'm going back to his house so soon. Not after the way he's humiliated me."

"What about your children?" Astrid asked. "Do you think they would be willing to talk to him and see what's going on?"

Edele shrugged. "It's possible, but they're not that close to him yet."

"We'll go ahead and try anyway," Astrid replied resolutely. "Or…wait. I just might have another idea."

* * *

Klaus and Amy were spending time with Helene and Malachai when they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Helene offered, hoping with all her might that it was her son William, who'd recently called and told her that he'd holed up somewhere with Lucy and was fine, but he wouldn't tell her where in case she wanted to come and bring him home.

But when she opened the door and saw her parents on the other side, she couldn't stop the disappointed groan that came from her lips.

"Who is it?" Malachai called. "Is it William?"

"No," Helene replied. "It's my parents!"

"Good!" Klaus said. "We can get them to put a search party out to rescue my daughter from the fiery clutches of your demented son."

"What's going on?" Astrid asked, looking alarmed. "Problems with William?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Helene assured her. "What brings you here?"

"We need to talk to Malachai," Alistair told her. "It's about his sister."

"Edele?" Helene asked. Then she hit her forehead with her palm. "Of course it's Edele. What other sisters does Malachai have that aren't dead?" She led them to the living room where Klaus jubilantly greeted Alistair.

"I hope you're not working him too hard, Astrid," he said with a smile.

"No, she's not," Alistair told him. "After you, nothing she can throw at me is hard."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," Klaus smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Malachai, your sister came into my office today to tell me that she's changing sides and turning against the Phoenix," Astrid told him. "She says that his plans have changed and now involve Klaus' sister Freya. But she doesn't know what those plans are so we were wondering if next time you saw Sarah or someone, you could ask if they would go to his house and talk to him…damn! I didn't think this through! You would have been the one to talk to if Edele was the problem, but she's not! Who the hell can we use to find out what the Phoenix's plans are with Freya?"

"Next time Sarah comes over, I can ask her to discuss it with Junior," Malachai offered. "Apparently he's one of the Phoenix's kids too. Or Finn. I think they're still friends."

"Would you do that?" Astrid asked. "Thank you. I just don't want her to feel like she's been put in the middle of something because I promised that she would be looked after the first time the Phoenix knocked her out and kidnapped Finn."

"Okay, good!" Klaus stood up and clapped his hands. "Now that we have that taken care of, what's gonna happen with Lucy? Who's gonna rescue her? Can I depend on the magical government for help, or do I have to do it all myself?"

"If you ask me, I don't think we need to send a search party after Lucy," Amy replied. "She's very intelligent, she's of Original descent, so it's not like he can kill her…and doesn't he like her? He wouldn't put her in any sort of danger if he likes her."

"I think you're putting too much trust in him, Amy," Klaus said. "She's been kidnapped by a man who's not the most stable person," Klaus reminded her.

"Fine, if you're that worried, we'll look for her or call her or something," Amy told him. "There's no need to get the Council involved when they're clearly busy enough already."

"Thank you, Amy," Alistair told her. "That…that couldn't be more true, unfortunately."


	21. Giving A Little More Of Yourself

"There's someone here to see you," Samantha told Damon after knocking on his bedroom door. "Kind of a scrawny, hobo-looking person. You know anyone like that?"

Damon gazed at her after putting his hands behind his head. "Did the person say anything about owing me money when you asked why they wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Samantha nodded. "As a matter of fact, they did. So since you know them, you might want to get to the front step and say a few words."

"You left them out on the front step?" Damon asked, jumping off his bed and running to the bedroom door. "Why would you do that? Why didn't you let them in?"

"He looked shifty," Samantha shrugged. "If I would've let him in and then left him alone, he could have stolen something!"

Damon just rolled his eyes and went to the front door. "Sorry about that," he apologized as he let the boy in. "That's Samantha. She has terrible manners. Brian, right?"

"Don't worry about it," came the reply in that odd tone of voice. "I've seen worse." Then a wad of money was put in Damon's hand. "There you go," said the boy. "Paid in full. And yes, Brian is my name."

"Thank you," Damon said and put it in his pocket. "Where will you go now?"

Brian shrugged. "I don't know."

There was a pause while Damon wrestled with his conscience. "All right," he said at last. "Why don't you stay a while since you have nowhere else to go?"

"Fine," Brian replied. "Thank you. But I won't be here forever. I promise." He paused. "Now, can I just pick a room, or do you want to pick one out for me?"

"No, I'll find a place for you," Damon told him and led him to the room across the hall from his own. "There's a bathroom there," he said, pointing to a closed door across from the right side of the bed. "And it has a shower in case you want to clean yourself off."

"I do!" Brian nodded. "Thanks!"

Damon was going to ask what he planned to do for clothes after his shower since he didn't seem to have any with him, but it seemed like a question that was way too personal for someone he hardly knew. So he just left him be while he tried to think of what to do with himself now that he and Lucy weren't together anymore, and Stefan and Samantha had gone out somewhere. He finally decided to take a nap and it was while he was doing this that Stefan and Samantha came home.

They were a bit drunk and stumbled into Brian's room while he was in the shower. Thinking it was Damon, and that he wouldn't mind, they began making out on the bed, and that quickly progressed to hot and heavy sex with moaning that was so loud, it could clearly be heard when Brian stepped out of the shower.

"Oh, for god's sake!" He groaned and reached for a towel. "I've moved into a house full of perverts!" He then looked in the mirror and sighed as his body began to change and become more feminine. He wasn't really a 'he' at all, but a girl named Annie Brown. She'd taken on the guise of "Brian" after her parents had discovered her magical powers and her stepfather had tried to beat them out of her.

After that, it hadn't taken her long to decide that she needed to run away from home if she wanted to have any life at all. She'd began her time on the streets as a woman, but after a few unfortunate run-ins late at night, she'd decided that a male persona would be safer. So Brian had been born. She'd used magic to change the appearance of her body, but kept her voice the way it was, foolishly believing that it wouldn't take much to make her sound convincingly masculine.

That had been her life on the streets, but now that she had a roof over her head and some life experience, she wondered if it wasn't time to retire Brian all together and just tell Damon the truth about herself. Yes, that would be best. Keeping up the guise was hard work and she was running out of the will to do it.

As the noise outside the door continued, she narrowed her brown eyes and turned on her heel, marching into the bedroom and shouting loudly at the two bouncing lumps under the bed covers. "Do you mind?" She cried. "You're in my room and tainting my bed! If you're going to fuck each other, at least have the decency to do it in a room that isn't already occupied."

That made the lumps become still and then Stefan and Samantha slowly poked their heads out from under the covers and watched in shock as Annie dropped the towel and zapped herself some new clothes, revealing very clearly that Damon had invited a girl into the boardinghouse, and not a boy.

* * *

"Do you think Damon knows about this?" Samantha asked as she and Stefan talked about it in his car where they would be less likely to be overheard. "And if he doesn't, I'm gonna tell him, okay? I want to see the look on his face!"

"We definitely need to tell him," Stefan agreed. "My brother has a habit of getting himself into really bad relationships with Lucy being the one exception, but it appears that now that she's gone, he's reverted to his old bad habits and as much as I would love to watch him deal with this on his own, I just can't."

"So we get to tell him?" Samantha asked gleefully as she rubbed her hands together. "What are we just sitting her for? Let's do it!"

They ran inside and shook a soundly sleeping Damon awake.

"What?" He asked grumpily. "What the hell do you want? Can't you see that I'm sleeping?"

"The guy you invited to live here is actually a girl!" Samantha burst out. "We were having sex in her room when she came out of the shower and showed us!"

"Oh, you're making that up!" Damon cried, getting to his feet. "Can't you just let this be? He's only gonna be here for a few days at the most and then he'll leave and you won't have to deal with him anymore."

"We're actually not making it up," Stefan told him. "Go see for yourself if you don't believe us."

"Fine," Damon told his brother and stomped across the hall. He knocked on the door and called out, "Brian, may I come in?"

"Sure," a decidedly feminine voice called back. "I have something I need to tell you anyway, so it's good timing.

"What the hell?" Damon whispered to himself and turned the doorknob. When he stepped inside, he saw a girl in a purple shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots sitting on the bed. "Hi," she said. "I bet you're wondering who I am, aren't you?"

"So…so Stefan and Samantha weren't lying?" Damon asked as he blinked furiously and rubbed his eyes. "You really _are_ a girl?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied and stuck out her hand, her dark eyes sparkling mischievously. "My name's Annie Brown. I made up a boy persona to be safer when I was living on the street."

"Ah," Damon nodded. "Yep, that makes sense."

"You probably want me to go now, don't you?" Annie asked. "I understand if you do."

"No," Damon shook his head. "I told you that you could stay here and I mean that, whether you're a girl or a boy. Just…just make sure you stay out of my bed, okay?"

"Yeah, all right," Annie nodded and pointedly gave him a full body sweep with her eyes. "I'll try to keep that in mind. You bring a lot of girls through here?"

"Actually, my wife and I just separated, so…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Annie told him. "And who are those two that I found having sex in my bed? Was your wife one of them?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "They are my brother and his…well, calling her his 'girlfriend' would be a bit of an optimistic term, but they seem to like each other. She's not really my type, though."

"And just what _is_ your type?" Annie asked.

Damon chuckled. "Be patient," he said, making his way to the door. "And you might just find out eventually."

* * *

"What do you want now?" Thomas asked Davina when she stopped by. "Would you like to ruin another dinner that I worked so hard to prepare?"

"Oh, will you stop whining about that?" Davina asked. "It worked out well in the end. And I said I was sorry."

"You did not," Thomas scowled. "But it wouldn't hurt to say it now."

Davina smirked at this. "Let's not and say we did, all right?"

"Fine," Thomas shrugged easily and gave her a grin. "And while we're on the subject of things that were said at dinner the other night, I can't help but think of something else that caught my ear and it hasn't left my mind ever since." He began taking steps closer and closer to Davina, until there was no space between them and she was backed up against the wall.

"What?" Davina asked, looking up at him with bated breath. "What is it?"

He reached out and began playing with her dark hair before taking her in his arms and giving her a long, deep kiss.

"You remember," he whispered. "That thing you said about wanting to take a bath with me? Let's do it!"

"All right," Davina said, her eyes wide as he picked her up and strode in the direction of the nearest bathroom that had a shower, which was in Andrew and Amelia's (currently vacant) room. "I can't wait!"

But when they reached it and he shut the door behind him after putting her on her feet, he didn't proceed to undress, but picked her up again and stuck her in the shower, closed the shower door, and turned the water on.

She let out a shriek as it hit her in the face because it was ice cold. He hadn't bothered to warm it up and by the time he turned it off, she was shivering hard and her teeth were chattering.

"Y-y-y-you j-j-j-j-jerk!" She cried as she wrung out her clothes and fell into his arms. "W-w-what d-did y-you h-h-have t-t-to d-do t-t-t-that f-f-f-for?"

"Just to keep you on your toes," Thomas chuckled. "And what better excuse could I come up with to hold you against me?" He held her tightly then and soon, his body warmth began to affect her. She stopped shivering and shut her eyes as she laid her head against his chest. Then, he looked down at her and kissed her deeply. She paused for a moment and then tightened her grip on him before kissing him back.

They were deeply wrapped in each other when Andrew, after returning from the movies with Amelia (one of his favorite pastimes. He still couldn't quite believe that you could take pictures where people moved and spoke), came in because he had a bladder full of soda. But when he saw what was going on with his son and Davina, he smiled to himself, closed the bathroom door, and went to use the guest bathroom instead.

* * *

"So show me what happened when you opened the door," Amelia requested of Andrew as they talked in bed that night. "What were Thomas and Davina doing?"

"Well," Andrew shrugged. "They were kissing, and…"

"No," Amelia shook her head and put a hand on his arm as she eyed him intently. _"Show me_ what they were doing. I would like a demonstration, please."

" _Oh_ ," Andrew nodded. "I see what you're saying." He took her in his arms and held her close to his body, kissing her deeply as his hands roamed all over her and then went to play with her hair.

"Wow," she said when they pulled apart. "No _wonder_ he didn't notice you."

"Why are we stopping now?" Andrew smiled and pushed her back against the mattress as she stared up at him with a smile. "Shall we continue?"

"Oh, yes, please," Amelia smiled, her curly blonde hair bouncing as she nodded enthusiastically. "Let's continue." She took his face in her hands and kissed him again as he pushed up her night gown, slipped off her panties, and kissed down her inner thighs.

"I hope we never catch Thomas doing _this_ ," she said in a breathless voice and then let out a cry as she felt his tongue slide between her legs. "Oh, god. Where the hell did you learn how to…?"

"You wanna know?" Andrew asked, pausing for a moment. "Or do you want to just let that be a mystery between us?"

"Mystery," Amelia said.

"Good," Andrew smiled and then licked her for a bit longer before pulling her up to sit so she could wrap her legs around his waist and he could get inside her that way.

"Are you sure you want my mouth near your ear?" She whispered and nibbled on his earlobe. "You know I don't hold back anymore. You know I'm a screamer."

"That is a risk I'm willing to take," he said calmly before pushing into her as she let out a cry and fell back against the pillow and held onto him tight as he pushed into her several more times before rolling off her as they both panted heavily.

"Wow," she said and reached out to take his hand. "That was good."

"Yes," Andrew nodded and turned his head to kiss her cheek. "It sure was."

* * *

"So…what's got you so worked up?" Lucien asked Klaus as Felicity stood beside him.

"Yeah," She added. "What's going on?"

"Your aunt Lucy has been kidnapped," Klaus told her. "And I'm working on a plan to get her back."

"'Aunt Lucy'?" Lucien asked and eyed Felicity. "Your father named one of his children after me. What an honor! I didn't even think he liked me that much."

"She's not named after you!" Klaus said impatiently as he frowned at his phone. "Her mother wanted to name her after the Dracula character. Very ironic if you ask me." He paused and hit the phone on the wall. "Damn it!" He swore. "I called Malachai to see if he knew where his crazy son took Lucy a long time ago. Why won't he answer me?"

"Give me your phone," Felicity told her grandfather patiently. "I can handle this."

Klaus glared and then handed it to her.

Felicity dialed a number as Lucien put his arm around her again. "Hello, Aunt Lucy?" She said a few seconds later. "Your dad is worried about you. You wanna tell him you're okay?"

As she held it out to him, Lucien had a good chuckle at Klaus' expense. "Why couldn't _you_ have thought to just call her, Klausy?"

"Well, in the visions of her that are currently crowding my brain, she didn't have easy access to a phone," Klaus told him impatiently. "Don't be such a smart ass." He then held out his hand to Felicity as Lucien smirked. "Give me the phone," he demanded.

"All right," Felicity said with a scoff. "Here!"

"Don't let it bother you," Lucien told her as he held her close to himself and tried to kiss her until she hissed at him and he leaned back a little, eyes wide. "He's always been grabby."

"Lucy, sweetheart, how are you?" Klaus asked. "Do I have to kill someone to get you back?"

"No, I'm fine," Lucy assured him. "Sorry if you've been worried. William's still upset about Damon and me, but once we talk about it like calm, rational people, I'm sure it will be all right. And you can tell his parents that he's all right too."

"Never mind about him," Klaus told her. "Where are you?"

"In Alistair and Astrid's basement," Lucy explained. "Don't get mad at them for not telling you. They don't know we're here."

"You could have told them so they could tell me and I wouldn't have been worried all this time!" Klaus remonstrated. He had her on speaker now.

"Sorry," Lucy apologized. "I'm just not used to thinking that I have to tell you anything since Uncle Elijah is who I see more." She gasped. "I haven't told Uncle Elijah where I am either! Does he know-"

Lucy's loud voice was cut off as Lucien led Felicity away from the conversation. "Well, that's enough of that," he said. "Could it get any more boring?"

"Well, what is it that you suggest we do instead?" Felicity asked. "Anything _other_ than going to bed?"

"Why 'other'?" Lucien countered with a grin. "Why would you want to do anything else?"

"What else is there?" Lucien wanted to know. "You wanna help with that Phoenix stuff?"

"Maybe," Felicity replied. "At least _that_ would be worthwhile and not a waste of a couple of minutes."

"Oh, it would take more than a couple of minutes if you were in bed with me," Lucien told her. "You've been there. You know that."

"I was drunk," Felicity reminded him smugly. "I don't remember a thing." She then left him alone while she went to see if Amy could help her find something useful to do.


	22. Coming Out Of The Darkness

"I know we've been focused a lot on this Phoenix thing and that hasn't left a lot of time for you," Selina told Drew as she came to sit by his bed before he went to sleep (presumably like she had when he was a child, but she didn't remember that), "but how are you doing, Drew? What's going on in your life?"

"You don't need to ask me this, really," Drew told her. "I know you and Dad are busy and I don't feel deprived." He was blushing deeply because he didn't want to tell his mother about Clarissa. She was blonde, she was pretty, and despite the fact that she was a lot like his sister, he liked her.

"Okay, if you won't tell me anything, that's fine, but…how do you feel about being with Clarissa Shaw the next time I make new partners for class?" Selina asked and gave him a wink.

"That…that would be fine," Drew replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "I would like that."

"I thought you would," Selina nodded and hugged him. "And I'm really glad to hear it. Because you're doing very well and she's struggling. I think you could be a good help to her."

"I could stop her from setting her hair on fire again, anyway," Drew smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Yep," Selina agreed. "And since we all know what burnt hair smells like, I think everyone in the class will be grateful toward you for preventing us having to smell it."

"Did you only come in here to talk to me about Clarissa?" Drew questioned.

"No!" Selina shook her head. "Anything else you wanna say, go ahead."

"I don't have anything else on my mind at the moment, but can I say that you're not very subtle at all, Mom?" He told her with a smile.

"Well, thank you for answering what was obviously a very personal question," Selina said and gave him a kiss. "Now, if you don't have anything else you want to talk to me about, you best be getting to bed. You want to look good for Clarissa."

Drew chuckled. "I can look as good as I want, but I don't know if it'll help. This could be one crush that remains unrequited."

"Oh, it doesn't have to be that way," Selina scoffed as she paused by the door and watched him tuck himself in. "If she's want you want, don't just give up because she can be as nasty and thickheaded as your sister. There could be good in her somewhere." Selina paused. "Of course, you shouldn't go into a relationship always thinking you can successfully change a person, but sometimes, it works with the right kind of encouragement."

"That's what I'm thinking," Drew nodded. "If you and Dad can start at a really difficult place and then manage to come together, there might be hope for me and Clarissa after all. But you might have to give this same talk to my friend Percy," he finished. "He's got his eye on Stephanie, despite my warnings."

"It would be a bit odd for a student to receive that sort of lecture from a teacher," Selina reminded him. "But if I see your sister being too rough on the guy, I promise I'll step in, okay?"

"Thanks," Drew smiled and laid his head on the pillow. "This was a nice talk."

"Like when you were little?" Selina asked hopefully.

"Yes," Drew replied with a smile and closed his eyes. "Just like when I was little."

* * *

" _What?_ " Clarissa cried when she came to Selina's class the next day and saw that she was paired with Drew for the hour. "Miss Warren, I know he's your son, but _seriously?_ Did he put you up to this?"

"No, he didn't," Selina told her calmly. "He's one of the more skilled kids in the class and you, my dear, need help. _That's_ why I put you together."

"I doubt it," Clarissa replied and glared at her before plodding over to join Drew at their station. "Don't think you're gonna get me to do a whole bunch of work," she hissed at him.

"Oh, of course not," Drew told her easily. "I wouldn't want to get a bad grade just because you're better at cooking your hair than what we're supposed to stick in the oven."

Clarissa scoffed at this. "Oh, just shut up!" She replied.

"Well, okay," Drew replied and put up his hands in surrender, stepping away from her a bit. "I won't speak to her highness if she doesn't want me to, but I won't be your lackey either. You're doing some of the work on our project, even if I have to help you every step of the way."

Clarissa narrowed her eyes at him and flipped her blonde hair. "Like you could be any real help to _me._ "

"Oh, just wait," Drew told her. "You'll be glad I'm here."

* * *

And though she was loath to admit it, he was right. What she made with him that day was the first thing she hadn't burned all year, and it got her the first words of praise from Selina that she'd ever received.

"Good work, you two," she told them with a smile. "Especially you, Clarissa. I'm pleased to see how you're actually working with your new partner." She walked off and Clarissa turned to Drew and gave him a surprising look of disbelief. "Did she just _praise_ me?" She asked him.

"Yeah," Drew nodded as he threw the ingredient boxes in the trash. "She tends to do that when she sees people putting effort in their projects. Feels good, doesn't it?"

Clarissa shrugged, her face becoming that haughty mask again. "It's okay," she said and reached for an emery board in her purse and worked on her nails without another word to Drew.

* * *

"Did you hear about Lucy?" Elijah asked when he came to Selina's classroom during his free period the next day because it was mini-pizza day. "She's been kidnapped, apparently. I mean, that's what Niklaus says, but you know how emotional he can get sometimes.

"Kidnapped?" Selina repeated as her eyes widened. "How did that happen? Was she hurt?"

"No, a boy who likes her took her and hid her away somewhere," Elijah explained. "I had to get the details from Damon Salvatore and you have no idea what that took out of me."

"I bet it was a lot," Selina said, giving him a hug of sympathy. "I know how much you hate talking to him."

" _That's_ an understatement," Elijah replied.

"So do we need to do anything to get her back or does it seem like she'll come on her own?" Selina asked. "If we have to go rescue her, this could be good practice for when, you know, I really have to go dark!"

"No, we don't have to rescue her," Elijah shook his head. "But she's promised to call every once in a while and let us know she's not dead."

"How nice of her to relieve our minds that way," Selina said.

Elijah then went to look out the door and see if anyone was coming. When he was sure the coast was clear, he closed the door and went to put his arms around his wife and gave her a kiss. "There's something I need to tell you about you and Anna's plan to make you dark again in order to fight the Phoenix," he said to her.

"You're not backpedaling now, are you?" Selina asked. "Cause you said that I could go dark! You promised!"

"I know I did," Elijah nodded. "And I'm not trying to take it back or anything. It's just that Anna seems to believe that the only way to get you to a truly dark place is to deprive you of any and all affection. She thinks I've turned you into a delicate, spoiled poodle or something and that how you currently are won't get us anywhere."

"Don't do it," Selina shook her head. "Cause in a way, she's right: depriving me of affection will get me to a dark place, but _that_ is the sort of darkness that pulls me in so deep I might not be able to come back from it. It's not ingesting lots of blood that gets me in trouble. It's feeling like I'm alone in the world and unloved. Unless that's exactly the situation Anna thinks I should be in."

"Well, it probably is," Elijah sighed. "You remember how ruthless she can be. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm not listening to her, and that we will continue on the road we're on because I believe, affection or no, you have it in you to be dark enough to fight the Phoenix."

"You're damn right I do!" Selina huffed as she let him go and headed to the classroom refrigerator. "When I get through with him, he'll wish he'd never been born!" She then opened the fridge and peered in at the leftovers before turning to look at Elijah again. "Cheese pizza or pepperoni?" She asked him.

* * *

When the school day was over and she and Elijah got home, Selina was reading alone in the living room when the doorbell rang. Curious, she went to open the door and saw someone she hadn't seen in a while on the other side.

"Hi, Lissy!" She cried as she hugged her granddaughter and then looked uncertainly over Felicity's shoulder at Lucien. "And hi Felicity's friend!"

"That's Lucien," Felicity said. "He's the first vampire Grandpa ever-"

"No need to say more," Selina cut her off easily. "I know _all about_ Lucien."

"Oh?" Lucien raised an eyebrow as they went inside. "And just how would that be?"

Klaus and I talked a lot over the years," she said easily. "Occasionally about you: the crazy, impulsive vampire who's a big pain in his ass."

"That's right," Lucien nodded, sounding very pleased by the description. "And just who are you then? I wonder if I know about _you."_

"No, you wouldn't know about her already," Felicity replied. "I mean, while she was a vampire in the time you came from, she didn't reach notoriety for another thirty or so years."

"Notoriety?" Lucien asked, looking at Selina's bright pink and sparkly dress and her innocent big blue eyes. " _You_? Would it hurt your feelings if I chuckled a little?"

Selina let out a growl then and pushed him against the wall. They fought for a long time with Selina holding her own, although Lucien had the upper hand in terms of vampire strength because he was older. When she realized that, Selina revealed her secret weapon, stepping away to transform into a wolf, all the while giving Lucien a false sense of security. As he chuckled about beating the girly innocent-looking vampire, Selina the wolf pounced on him and knocked him to the floor, her paws on his chest as she growled at him, her eyes flashing.

"Who's laughing now?" Felicity grinned and crossed her arms, enjoying the spectacle. "Cause it doesn't seem like _you,_ Lucien."

"All right, all right, I'm sorry!" Lucien said as he looked the wolf in the eyes and she snapped at him, missing his nose by less than an inch. "Call her off, will you, Lissy?"

"All right, Grandma," Felicity said. "Fun's over. I know my boyfriend is a sexist pain in the butt sometimes, but that's no excuse to kill him. That's an honor that's gonna go to me if it ever needs doing."

" _What_ did you just call me?" Lucien asked in surprise.

"My boyfriend," Felicity told him as Selina skulked off. "It means we're a couple. Don't tell me you're one of those guys who hates labels or is afraid of commitment."

"Well," Lucien sighed. "I usually shy away from committing to any woman, but I suppose it means something that you've held my attention this long. I guess…I guess we're a couple."

"Good," Felicity said and gave him a kiss. "But I promise we can wait to tell Grandpa if that makes you feel any better."

"I'd like that," Lucien nodded. "I've already been attacked by one wolf today. I don't want to have to deal with another so soon."


	23. The Phoenix's Torture

"Don't things go so much better when we don't have any fears about being interrupted?" John asked Freya as he rolled off her and then turned to face her as she gazed at him from her side of the bed.

"Yes, it _is_ nice not to be interrupted," Freya agreed and pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "But…aren't you worried about what Edele might be doing? She could be turning against you at this very minute!"

"And what does that matter?" John shrugged, looking unperturbed. "If it turns out that that's the case, I'll just have to kill her too, along with all the others on my list, and since she's already served her purpose, I can do it without any regret." He then paused to stare as Freya swallowed nervously.

"Do you feel the same way about me?" She asked. "Are you going to get rid of _me_ once I've 'served my purpose'?"

He chuckled and looked into her eyes. "I hate you for making me so emotional and forgetting the plot that I've planned for so many years because my head seems to be filled with nothing but you," he said, taking her face in his hands. "And normally, I don't like to reveal my plans to anyone, but just to allay your fears, you must know that I have more in store for you than just bearing my children."

"You do?" Freya smiled. "That's a big relief."

"Yes, well, I told you in the beginning that if you betrayed your family to help me, I would reward you handsomely for it, didn't I?" He asked and kissed her. "I meant that. I don't break my word."

"All right, I'll trust you," Freya sighed. "It's not like I have any choice, do I? Not if I want to stay alive." She paused and moved his hand from her face before saying, "What is it that you want from me? What are we going to do when my family is dead?"

"We'll start over, my dear," he told her. "You'll bear me a son and we'll start over. You've always wanted a family, haven't you?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "But when we became vampires, that chance was taken from me. My brothers have had time to have families, it seems, but I…I never have because there are only so many sorts of people we can bear children with and have a family after." She paused. "Although it's harder for my brothers than for me, because they need a woman who's strong enough to make it through the delivery of a vampire child and very few women can do that."

John chuckled. "No wonder your brothers have fought over that woman with the brown hair and the pretty blue eyes for so long."

"Yes, and my twin brother Alexander took her into his life also, although apparently they never had any children," Freya agreed.

He looked into her eyes again and said, "I know the only reason why you're with me is because I promised to spare your life and I'm all right with that. It makes sense that it wouldn't be because you're attracted to me. I know I'm not conventionally handsome, so I've had to use other things to attract women like threats or offers of power. And it's worked very well over the years."

"I bet it has," Freya nodded. "Especially for women who don't see themselves as beauties, like me. It's nice to know that someone is paying attention to you when you're too skinny and your hair is limp, and your breasts are too small…" She looked down at her bare chest and placed a hand on one of her breasts, sighing in dismay.

"Oh, no, no, no!" John shook his head, moved her hand, and gave her a kiss. "It grieves me to know how much you underestimate yourself! You are an extraordinary woman!" He then made a noise in his throat and his eyes widened as he shook his head and seemed not to see her, even as she sat right in front of him.

"John?" Frey asked. "Are you all right?" She then gasped as he gripped her throat. Not hard enough to choke her, but he definitely had a firm grip.

"You have too much of a hold over me," he whispered in her ear as she gasped, taking what air she could into her lungs. "I can't think straight around you and that's something I can't afford! I need to take back control of myself."

"Fine," Freya got out in a strangled voice. "Kill me if I'm in the way. I wouldn't want to interfere with your ambitions!" She threw her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender, but instead of squeezing harder, which would have been easy to do, he just threw her backward onto the pillow.

Then he got out of bed, put on a robe, and walked aimlessly around the house. He'd come dangerously close to making a big mistake. He had to keep holding himself at a distance and really think about just what he was getting himself into. It was the only way this would come out exactly as it was supposed to: with him winning, and everyone who opposed him either dead or at his mercy.

* * *

"We're so glad you're safe!" Amy told Lucy. "Your father was worried, but I had absolute confidence that you would come out of it all okay."

"Of course I did!" Lucy smiled. "William's not so bad. He just…he just needs a little guidance. He doesn't have a lot of that because Malachai and Helene are busy and don't have time for him."

"Poor guy," Amy sighed.

"Yep," Lucy nodded. "He has this power where whenever he gets emotionally overwrought, he begins to set things on fire. I asked him if he ever thought of learning how to control that power, but he doesn't think it's possible. But there has to be, doesn't there?"

"Oh, yes," Amy nodded. "I'm sure there has to be. He can't be the only one to ever have powers like that that he can't control. Is Alistair as busy as everyone else? Maybe he can help. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"No, I don't think it would," Lucy agreed. "And even if he _is_ too busy, maybe he can direct us to someone who isn't. Cause I really think that William learning how to control his fire power is very important, both for his own sake and everyone's around him."

"You're so right," Amy nodded. "You want to give Alistair a call, or should I?"

"I will," Lucy assured her. "You don't have to do a thing more."

* * *

"Remind me why you need to be here again?" Klaus said irritably a few days later as his son-in-law, Jonathan Putnam, helped him look through books for information on the Phoenix. Since Alistair was otherwise occupied, he needed to find other people to help him. "Savannah could have just come without you."

"Yes, she could have," Jonathan agreed. "But she's not been around as long as I have, plus with my scholarly bent, I naturally know more about things like this than she does. But don't kid yourself. I'm not happy about being in your presence either. However, we promised Savannah that we would get along for her sake, so let's not go back on that now."

"I think I'm entitled to share my feelings while my daughter is in the bathroom and won't notice my misbehavior," Klaus told him. "Why did you grow your hair out again? It makes you look like a hippie."

"How I choose to wear my hair is none of your concern," Jonathan snapped. "And I would think you would have more dire things to worry about."

"Well, I don't know," Klaus huffed. "The Phoenix hasn't actually done anything bad to me yet, but maybe putting me in a situation where I'm dependent on you is the first strike against me."

"Maybe," Jonathan agreed. "And I wonder what it was that _I_ did to have to be cursed with _your_ presence? Alistair asked me if I would be willing to tutor a young man who shoots fire out of himself when angry and that has quite a temper. And I think that if I had a choice between risking immolation and spending time with you, I would take a chance with the fire."

"What's going on in here?" Called Savannah's voice from the other side of the library. "Do I need to break up any fights, or are you two getting along?"

"Neither one of us is dead," Jonathan called back, pushing a strand of long dark hair out of his eyes. "That should count for something, shouldn't it?"

"Yes," Savannah said, smiling as she came upon them. "I'm very pleased about that."

Like her mother, Savannah Audrey Mikaelson had long red hair and blue eyes. But like her father, she had a habit of being ruthless and bloodthirsty which her husband, a warlock, had taken some time to get used to. "I wouldn't want to have to use more extreme methods to get you two to get along."

"Savannah, sweetheart, you couldn't do that," Klaus told her without looking up. "Not to _me_ anyway. But I encourage you to continue to show this buffoon who wears the pants in your relationship."

"That's not the point of this, Daddy," Savannah told him with a deep sigh. "The point is to figure out the best way to defeat the Phoenix and sometimes that means you have to work with people you don't like if you want to get anything done."

Then the doorbell rang. "Speaking of…" she said and then ran off again, returning a few minutes later with two more people, one of whom made Klaus narrow his eyes again.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" King Hamilton Mikaelson asked. He was Mikael's son with his second wife Gwen, and as that relationship suggested, he had never been one of Klaus' favorite people, even though he'd always been good to Vivi and their daughter Eva. "I came so you wouldn't have to deal with my dad! I did you a favor!"

"Dad, stop glaring at King," Vivi ordered from behind a high stack of books in her arms that she had to peer around. "And will someone take these from me? My arms are starting to hurt."

"Sorry," Jonathan told her as he and King both took a part of the pile. "And thank you so much for coming so we can pool our resources!"

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Vivi told him. "It's a nice break from grading French tests. I missed teaching, but then I started grading things and, well…I was more than eager to find something else to do for a while." She was red-headed too and had much more of her mother's personality than her father's, which made her a good work partner for Jonathan.

Meanwhile, King tried to start a conversation with his father-in-law. "So," he said as he watched his wife and brother-in-law look through books. "How are you?"

"I've been better," Klaus got out. "And I've been worse. How's your father? Please tell me he's miserable."

"Yep," King nodded. "Bad tempered as always. The Phoenix hasn't done anything to him yet, but it'll be interesting to see what weaknesses he chooses to exploit. If it has anything to do with kidnapping my mother, things won't end well for him."

"Yeah," Klaus chuckled. "I bet they won't." They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds and then King shouted to Vivi that he wanted something useful to do."

"Isn't there someone I can beat up or something?" He asked.

"Not at the moment," Vivi replied. "I know things are a bit dull now since there's no fighting to be done, but there will be. You'll have your moment." Her stomach growled. "You wanna go order a pizza or something? I'm a bit hungry."

"Okay," King sighed because that wasn't the sort of job he'd hoped for. "I'll go do that. You keep trying to find vulnerability in the Phoenix."

"All right," Savannah agreed. "And after you order the pizza, would you call my daughter Mary and tell her that it's okay to come out of hiding because apparently Edele's on the good side now?"

"Sure," King nodded. "They're staying with Eva and Sean, right?"

"Yep," Savannah nodded. "Exactly. It'll give you a chance to talk to your daughter, too."

"It will," King nodded. "And I probably should. I didn't realize how long it had been since I've talked to her until you mentioned it just now." He left to call Mary while Klaus ordered the pizza and then called Amy to tell her that he would probably be back in a couple of hours and that he would see if the girls would be willing to come home with him.


	24. Exploiting Weaknesses

"What are you smiling about?" Freya asked John as she came up behind him in his library and kissed his neck while looking at papers with notes on them. "Are you coming up with the plots that will ultimately destroy my family?"

"Well, I thought I would start small," John smiled and rubbed his hands. "I want the pain to linger, if you know what I mean. So I'm going to mess with their minds first. It's going to be so funny!"

"Oh?" Freya asked. "And just what do you plan to do?"

"Well, I think we both know how your brothers feel about the pretty brunette, don't we?" John grinned. "What if we took advantage of those feelings and really caused some trouble? Wouldn't that be entertaining?"

"Yes, it would," Freya said, smiling widely after a moment. "I know that you're doing this to take revenge on my brothers, but…that girl. I know what she did and I never liked her. She treated Alexander horribly. So…can I help?"

"Of course," John nodded with a smile. "I would love that. But how good are you at punishing?"

"If you're talking about that woman, I can handle her," Freya assured him. "Just focus on my brothers and you'll wear them down soon enough."

John chuckled. "I like your confidence," he told her. "And I can't wait to see what you do."

"Same to you," Freya smiled and then went to plot how to torture her sister in law.

* * *

" _I love you, Selina. Why don't we just run off together?" Klaus said as he took Selina in his arms. "You've had how many children with Elijah by now?"_

" _I have no idea," Selina replied as she snuggled against him and shrugged. "Eleven? Twelve? Who the hell knows?"_

" _Aren't you sick of that?" Klaus asked as he began kissing her neck. "That's exactly what made you be Lonely Heart in the first place, right? The consequences of being a mother and not being able to be seen any other way?"_

" _Yeah," Selina nodded and gasped as he bit into her neck and licked up the blood. But what they didn't know was that Elijah was looking, standing in a nearby alcove, his hands balled into fists as he watched the woman he thought he loved betray him once again._

" _No!" He whispered…"No!"_

"No!" Elijah cried out, bolting upright in bed. "No, no, no!"

"What?" Selina asked, throwing her arms around him. "What's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I…I had a dream where you decided to leave me and run off with Klaus," he said, panting heavily and taking Selina in his arms. "I don't know why I would dream something like that. I'm very secure in our relationship now, and I trust you. You have to believe me!"

"I do," Selina promised and kissed him deeply. "I do, I swear." She paused. "Do you think you can go back to sleep, or do you want to go out to the kitchen and talk?"

"I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep again with visions of you kissing my brother so fresh in my mind," Elijah told her. "So I'm gonna go to my office and try to get some work done. You don't have to come with me. You get some rest, I'll be fine."

"Thank you," Selina told him and followed him as he got out of bed and they both put their bathrobes on. "But I can't sleep knowing that you're under some terrible mental strain. Let's just talk this out now and then we can sleep later."

"All right," Elijah nodded as he looked at his very determined wife. When she said she wasn't going to go to sleep, she wasn't kidding, and while he normally became somewhat irritated when she ignored his requests, this time he was glad for her stubbornness and her big heart.

They went to the office and just sat on the couch for a while, her head resting on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You wanna tell me more about what happened in the dream?" Selina asked. "Or would it help you forget it if you never talked about it again?"

"I think I'd rather not talk about it," Elijah told her. "You _aren't_ thinking about running off with Niklaus because I've made you have too many children, are you?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "That ship has sailed. I wouldn't do that to Amy. Sometimes I like having Klaus around when we're in a situation involving werewolf stuff or my dark side, since they're more comfortable for him to talk about than you, but I don't think I could handle being with him full time again." She paused. "I should probably visit Adrian more often, though. I haven't seen him much since you and I got married and started having kids." She stood up. "Want a drink?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I would love a drink, even if it's early. In fact, give me drinks until I pass out."

"Really?" Selina asked in surprise as she worked the lock on his drink safe and pulled out a bottle of scotch. "That's usually _my_ way of handling things, not yours." She poured him the drink and plunked it down next to him.

"Well, I'm desperate," Elijah replied, gulping it down and asking for another. "Does it work? Does it help you forget things?"

"Yeah, it does," Selina nodded. "And then in the morning, you're so busy focusing on the hangover that you forget the trouble too."

She kept giving him drinks and soon he was asleep with his head on his desk. "You poor guy," Selina whispered and kissed his hair as she dragged a second desk chair next to his. "You sleep. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

* * *

"My, aren't we in a bad mood today?" Klaus asked Elijah when he strode into the house the next afternoon and saw his brother glaring at him. "What have I done to bother you now?"

"Well, I suppose you haven't done anything," Elijah told him. "But I won't give you more details in case what I tell you gives you ideas."

Klaus' eyebrows went up. "Now I _have_ to know. Or is it the usual thing that bothers you so much: The idea that I might still have some lingering affection for your wife that is more than that of a brother-in-law?"

"Well, you can't blame me for having such thoughts," Elijah replied. "Even though you're still happy with Amy. It wouldn't hurt you to take everything I have, would it?"

"No," Klaus told him firmly. "And do you really think it's a good idea to let yourself get pulled into this worry? Shouldn't we stick together? You have my loyalty. I need to know that I have yours."

There was a long silence, and then Elijah sighed. "I…I suppose you're right," he said. "It's just…it's all in my head, isn't it? I know Selina wouldn't do that to me. I had trouble sleeping last night and she stayed up with me. Didn't even go back to bed or anything. I guess that's true dedication."

"Yes," Klaus said fondly. "Amy's like that too. I guess we're lucky."

"We certainly are," Elijah nodded.

Klaus sat down then. "Do you think it's odd that you'd be having dreams about Selina being stolen away now? How long has it been since you've had one?"

"Oh, a _long_ time, which makes it all the more strange," Elijah told him.

"What if there's a reason you had it that had nothing to do with your actual feelings?" Klaus asked. "What if it was the Phoenix playing with your mind? He's powerful enough to do that even to us, you know."

Elijah turned and stared at his brother for a moment. "I-I you're right!" He said. "I have no idea why I didn't think of that before! But how could he know about that?"

"Well, we were at his house for the dinner," Klaus said. "Maybe he's more perceptive than we realize."

"Of course he is!" Elijah huffed. "He decided to start with me. Play on _my_ weaknesses first. I wonder why."

"Maybe it's cause your fears are so easy to pick up on," Klaus guessed. "No matter how sure you may be about your relationship with your wife, the fear that you'll be separated is always at the back of your mind, isn't it? That's why you didn't want her to help us fight."

"Yes," Elijah nodded and leaned back in his chair. "That's exactly it."

* * *

While John opted to use mental manipulation to get under Elijah's skin, Freya went for something a bit more physical. She spent time tracking Selina until one night, when the younger vampire was alone in the house, she made her move.

"Hello," she said as Selina looked up from brushing her teeth to see Freya's reflection behind her in the bathroom mirror. She then grabbed her and put a spell on her so that, try as she might, she couldn't change into a werewolf. As Selina struggled, little squeaking noises emitting from her, Freya punched her several times and then put a spell on her so that she couldn't move. She then held Selina tightly and whispered in her ear, "You're a whore. You've always been a whore, and the only reason why you're anywhere _near_ my family is that you're a nobody vampire that wants the notoriety and attention that being associated with the Original family can bring you. Don't think I don't know that that's the reason you've married three of my brothers. You're the biggest mistake they've ever made and I intend to do what I have to in order to bring them back to their senses, even if it means breaking their hearts by killing you. It might be a little harder because you're a hybrid, but I can do it, trust me." She then dropped her to the floor and disappeared.

* * *

"Selina! Selina!"

She heard her name being called in a strange echo tone over and over again.

"Selina! Selina! Wake up, love. You're going to be all right."

"Come on, Sera! You can do it! Just open your eyes."

Finally, she took a deep breath and despite the pain that was coursing through her body, she opened her eyes and found herself looking at Elijah, Klaus, and Anna.

"What happened?" She got out in a hoarse voice. "Where am I?"

"At the hospital," Elijah explained. "I found you twitching and unconscious on our bathroom floor, so I brought you here and then called Niklaus and Anna to tell them what happened."

"You did?" Selina asked. "That's surprising."

"Well, I thought that since you were badly hurt, now wasn't the time to be petty," Elijah replied. "Do you remember what happened? How did you end up like that?"

"Your sister showed up in the bathroom," Selina got out as Elijah took her in his arms. "She beat me up and put spells on me so that I could move. And she…she said that I was a whore and a terrible person and that the only reason why I spent time with any of you is because you're the Original family and I wanted attention for myself. That's not true at all, I promise."

"We know," Anna nodded and sat down next to her. "That's just Freya's way. She's a lot like Father in that she never approves of anyone we've been with. Every boyfriend or girlfriend we have, it's 'They're a whore. They're terrible. Don't be with them anymore'. It's not a reflection on you at all."

Selina took her hand. "Thank you," she said. "Cause it…it would really hurt me if you thought of me the way she did. And it's funny that you say she's so much like your father. Cause you're right. Everything she told me was something I've heard from Mikael a thousand times, but for some reason, when _she_ said it, it actually hurt." Then she turned to Elijah. "This was probably the sort of thing you were trying to avoid when you told me I couldn't come with you to fight the Phoenix, right?" She asked.

"Well, yes," Elijah nodded. "But you're all right now, so we won't dwell on it. It's just…very fortunate that this hospital cures _everyone_ that's been hit with spells now. Cause I assume that's what it was that Freya hit you with."

"Of course it was, Elijah!" Klaus told him. "What else would have hurt her? Nothing else!"

"Don't snap at each other," Anna told them firmly as Selina winced. "It's not helping anything."

"I'm gonna be okay, right?" Selina asked as she looked at their faces.

"Of course," Elijah told her. "You're making immense improvements already."

"Exactly," Anna agreed. "The fact that you were twitching when we found you was remarkable. The spell that was put on you was supposed to make you completely still. But you fought it. You're going to be fine."

"You will," Elijah agreed as he hugged her. "You just rest here for a couple of days and then we'll take you home."

She looked between Klaus and Elijah. "Do the kids know what happened to me?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Roxanne was irate when she heard. She says she's gonna come by at some point with a good stiff drink for you."

"And I've called every one of ours that I can reach," Elijah assured her. "They say they'll come."

"Good," Selina smiled. "Could you call Laura again and ask her to bring some of her styling stuff when she comes? I bet I look a mess."

"I don't know," Klaus smiled. "For someone who spent a couple of hours twitching on the bathroom floor, you're looking pretty good."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. They turned and saw a nurse standing in the doorway. "Visiting hours are nearly over," she said. "So please say your goodbyes and let the patient get some rest."

"All right," Elijah nodded as he kissed Selina one more time. "The children should be along tomorrow. And we'll be back too."

"Do you think Freya will come after me again?" Selina asked. There was some fear in her voice, but she didn't care.

"She might," Elijah nodded. "But next time she does, we'll be ready for her. We promise. This isn't going to happen again."


	25. All Kinds Of Worry

"What are you doing?" Thomas asked as he opened the door and Davina strode in with a bag in hand. "I don't remember inviting you to come visit, and I'm really not in the mood for company right now."

"Are you sure?" Davina asked. "What the hell could be so wrong that you'd refuse my company? Cause Finn has this friend visiting and they're really noisy at night so I need a new place to crash for a while. Would it help change your mind if I told you that I wasn't wearing a bra under this shirt?"

Thomas paused and his eyes widened a little as he stepped forward and put a hand on her chest. "Nope," he said and then stepped back. "I thought you were saying that just to manipulate me."

Then Davina slapped him, her eyes twinkling. "Who said you could touch me like that?" She asked.

"I'm sorry," Thomas apologized, putting a hand to his cheek. "But I thought…"

"No, I'm just kidding," Davina smiled.

"I can't handle your joking," he got out. "My sister is in the hospital and Mom and Dad and I have been there with her all night. Now why don't you go unpack your things and leave me alone for a bit?"

"Fine," Davina replied. "I thought I would ask if I could help you somehow, but if you just wanna be a grump by yourself, that's your choice."

"Yes, it is," Thomas told her firmly. "Now leave me alone."

With a huff, Davina headed to an empty room and began unpacking her things, but when she got to her underwear, just simple cotton panties in various colors, she decided to zap in a few sexier ones too in red and black, made of silk and lace.

"What do you think of these?" She asked, taking a pair of the red lace ones and showing them to Thomas."

"What does it matter?" He asked. "Are you wanting me to wear them?"

"No, stupid," Davina shook her head. "That would be weird, wouldn't it? I was talking about for _me._ Would you find these attractive one me?"

"Frankly, I don't care what your underwear looks like," Thomas said.

"You're not even looking," Davina pointed out. "Turn around and look."

At this, Thomas growled and spun around to face her. "There," he said irritably, snatching the red pile of fabric out of her hand and peering at it. "I looked. Are you happy?"

"Well, you're clearly not." Davina told him.

"I know," Thomas huffed. "I told you why. My sister is in the hospital cause she was hit with some heavy duty magic and I'm worried."

At that moment, Davina forgot all about trying to seduce Thomas with sexy underwear. She zapped it away and came to put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I-I hope your sister gets better. Is there anything I can do to lessen your worry? Do you really think that being left alone is really gonna help?"

"Well, no," Thomas huffed. "But I doubt you will, either."

"I might," Davina replied and grabbed him by the collar to pull his face down to hers and giving him a big kiss. "Did that help any?"

"I don't know," Thomas shrugged and held her body against his. "Let's try it again and see."

Soon he had pushed her against a wall and they were both kissing one another furiously and pulling at each other's clothes. When they pulled apart, Davina asked in a breathy voice, "I think I know what we're doing next. Your room or mine? Which one is closer?"

"Mine," Thomas replied, pointing. "It's the first door on the right down that hallway. Now, are you sure you want to do this with me?"

"Yes," Davina nodded. "I do. Isn't that obvious?"

"Well, given how things were the first time around, I want it to be a better experience this time," Thomas said. "Can you blame me?"

Davina paused and let out a breath. "No, I can't. But this won't be a repeat of last time, will it? You're not angry or grieving."

"No," Thomas shook his head before picking Davina up. "I'm not." He then carried her to his bedroom and made sure the door was firmly closed and locked before he undressed. When he was standing in front of Davina completely naked, he asked, "Aren't you gonna change too? I'll feel like a complete idiot if you don't?"

"I will in good time," Davina replied as her eyes swept his body and she smiled and licked her bottom lip. "I just wanted to take in the view first."

"Yes, well, would you mind returning the favor and allowing me the same privilege?" He asked, starting to shiver a little. "Please?"

"Oh, all right," Davina replied and kissed him again before stripping off her clothes so that she was as naked as he was and rolling her eyes as Thomas circled her to get a good look at everything. "I suppose I deserve this, don't I?" She asked dryly.

"Yes," Thomas nodded as he faced her. "You do. It was well worth the time, though."

"Well, what are we standing here for?" Davina asked. "Aren't there better things we could be doing with our time?" She grabbed him again, kissing him hard and then taking his hand and leading him over to the bed. He gave her a boost and then climbed in after her and soon, they were running their hands over each other's bodies, and Thomas' lips and tongue were enjoying tasting Davina's nipples and belly button. But once his hands had warmed up, that was when he put them on either side of her face and then told her, "do you want me inside you now?"

"Yes," Davina breathed. "I do, please." As if to emphasize her point, her legs parted and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Hey now," Thomas smiled. "Just a minute. I have some things I need to do first." He nibbled on her earlobe and played with her hair, leaving Davina impatient and squirming underneath him.

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" She whispered. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Thomas chuckled. "Sorry," he said with a wicked smile and then clutched her tightly as he buried himself inside her over and over again.

* * *

"So this is a hospital," Lucien mused as he and Felicity made their way to the reception desk to see where Selina's room was. "Interesting. You know, when I was human, they weren't half so nice."

"When you were human, people could drop dead from a sneeze," Felicity replied as they reached the desk. "They wouldn't have had time to get to a hospital, even if there _were_ nice ones around."

"Well, that's because sneezes were often symptoms of a terrible plague," Lucien told her. "They were nothing to sneeze at." He burst into chuckles.

"Yeah, you're hilarious," Felicity told him and then said to the lady at the desk, "Where's Selina Warren's room, please?"

"1031," the woman replied. "She must be really popular. You're not the first person to ask about her."

"I bet I'm not," Felicity told her. "Thank you," She then pulled Lucien away and he said, "So, we're going to see that Lonely Heart Klausy is always going on about? How frightening can she be if she's gotten hurt enough to be in a hospital?"

"Don't ask her about that when she's ill," Felicity warned. "Just say 'Hello' and then shut up."

"You honestly think I'm gonna do that?" Lucien asked. "I don't even listen to your grandfather. What makes you think I'll listen to _you_?"

"Maybe because I'm currently wearing that black underwear you always go on and on about wanting to see, but if you want to piss me off and lose the chance, that's your choice," Felicity told him and quickened her pace so he ended up being several steps behind her and having to jog to keep up.

"Trying to control me with sex," he said when they were side by side. "That's real original. Don't you have any other tricks?"

"I'm not trying to control you," Felicity told him. "I'm just…I'm just trying to say that my grandmother has been through a lot and I don't want you making her feel bad for being hurt, that's all."

"Okay, fine, I won't," Lucien replied. "But if she shows interest in _me_ and wants to talk, I'm going to, all right?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded. "But only then."

They reached Selina's room and found her sitting up with a burger in hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Felicity asked.

"Your dad sneaked it in for me," Selina replied. "He told me that I probably felt bad enough as it was that I shouldn't be eating watery Jell-o and broth too."

"Yeah, that sounds like something Dad would do," Felicity nodded. "He's cool like that."

"Who's your friend?" Selina asked her granddaughter. "Wanna introduce me?"

Felicity sighed. "Grandma, this is Lucien, the first vampire Dad ever turned, Lucien, this is my grandma."

"Hello," Lucien smiled and kissed Selina's hand. Then he stepped back and was silent.

"What?" Selina asked. "You're not going to say any more?"

"I'm not allowed to," Lucien replied. "Felicity apparently thinks I'll say something that will hurt your feelings if I speak more than two words."

"Ah," Selina nodded. "You wanna learn about Lonely Heart too."

"Yes, I do, but it can wait until you're feeling better," Lucien told her.

"Oh, I'm fine," Selina replied. "They're doing a good job of taking care of me. Now I'm just here for observation, not because I need any more treatment. If you want to know Lonely Heart stuff, I'll tell you. It'll be nice to finally talk to someone for more than two minutes after all this isolation I've had."

"All right," Lucien grinned and pulled up a chair. "I can't wait."

* * *

"Samantha?" Stefan called as he shut the liquor cabinet in frustration. "Did you drink my bourbon? I told you not to do that! Or if you did, at least tell me when the bottle is empty so I can get some more."

"I didn't!" Samantha defended herself as she came up behind him. "Why is it that you're always blaming me?"

They heard a burp and then turned around to see Annie with a bourbon bottle in hand. "This is good," she remarked, holding it out. "You should get some more. It seems like I've drunk it all."

"Yes," Stefan replied dryly and snatched the bottle away from her. "How long will you be staying with us again? Cause if you need to go somewhere else, I'll be happy to pack your bags for you."

"You'll have to take it up with your brother when he gets back," Annie grinned and put her muddy boots on the immaculate coffee table. "But who knows when he'll return from the hospital? He's been there a lot recently."

"Well, I would be more than happy to make it so you can join him," Samantha replied and cracked her knuckles. "Really, it would be no trouble."

"Oh, I would like to see you try," Annie told her.

Soon they were shooting magic at one another and making a mess of the kitchen. Stefan tried to stop it, but quickly gave up and retreated to a chair to watch the carnage, which lasted until Damon came back, looking in horror at the mess that had been made of his once immaculately clean living room.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked Annie irritably. "Did you start a fight?"

"No," Annie defended herself and pointed at Samantha. " _She_ started a fight. I just responded. I didn't know she had powers too."

"And what did you do?" Damon frowned at his brother. "Nothing?"

Stefan scoffed. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to get in the middle of two witches when they're fighting? No thank you. I think it's better just to let them get it over with."

"There you go," Samantha told Damon after zapping the place clean. "Happy?"

"I'm not _unhappy_ ," Damon told her before striding over to Annie. "If you're gonna be here, you can't just be picking fights," he told her. "This isn't the street."

"Oh, fine," Annie huffed. "Whatever."

"And stay out of my bourbon," Stefan added. "If you want to steal someone's, steal my brother's."

"Speaking of, I still have some, right?" Damon asked. "I could use it."

"Why?" Stefan asked. "Is Selina not well?"

"No, she's fine now," Damon replied. "I just want a drink."

* * *

Things were quiet in the house until Sam stopped by with Addie and it was Annie who answered the door.

"Well, hello," she said, openly looking Sam over. "Who in the world are you?"

"I'd ask you the same question," Addie told her. "Stop looking at him! I saw him first!" Vince and Roxie's daughter was very territorial of Sam because of all the groupies she'd had to fend off over the years of their band. "Now is Damon here or not?"

"Yeah, he's here," Annie nodded, her eyes still on Sam. "He's in the garage. Good luck finding him."

"Oh, no," Addie shook her head, her blue eyes blazing. "I'm not leaving him alone with you." She pulled Sam along with her and after they disappeared, Stefan came upon the scene cause he'd heard the whole thing. "You really know how to make friends, don't you?" He asked Annie."

"I try," Annie replied and shut the door. "I'm gonna go take a bath now."

"All right," Stefan nodded. "And be sure not to leave all the weird bath salts and stuff clogging the tub when you're done."

"I won't," Annie smirked and came to pinch his cheek. "Cause you asked so nicely." She then headed up the stairs and Stefan shook his head, wondering what had compelled his brother to invite her to move in in the first place.


	26. Finally Feeling Better

Seeing the effects of Daisy having her life lived for her made Clarissa all the more eager to at least try (to a point, anyway) to do things on her own. Cause the more she could do on her own, the less she would need her parents.

She decided to start by going to a coffee shop and getting some coffee. She put a ten dollar bill in her pocket and then headed to the coffee shop down the street from her house, groaning loudly when she got there late and there was a line. Not wanting to spend hours waiting, she watched a few people get their drinks and then when the next person's name was called, she made her move:

"Drew?" Called the guy behind the counter. "Is there a Drew here?"

"That's me," she said and ran up to the counter.

"I don't think it's yours," the man said skeptically. "I think I would remember if you ordered something."

"If you let me have this, I'll give you ten bucks," Clarissa told him and waved the bill around.

"All right," the guy nodded and took the money as Drew came out of the bathroom.

"Is that mine?" He asked her. "I heard them call my name."

"It might be," she said. "But you'll have to get it first." She then took off out the coffee shop door while Drew gave chase.

They ran down the street for a while and every time Drew thought he'd caught up with her, she disappeared and he was left looking around at nothing until she reappeared some distance away (but still in his sight) and he took off running after her again.

When she finally stopped and allowed him to catch up, it was so she could drink his coffee down and throw the empty cup at his feet.

"That's littering, you know," he told her firmly and picked the cup up to throw it away. "You shouldn't do it."

"What the hell was in that cup?" Clarissa winced. "It was bitter and awful!"

"I like the stronger stuff with just a little cream," Drew told her. "You should have thought of that before you went and stole something that wasn't yours and ordered your own instead." He paused. "You want me to take you back there and help you get something you'll actually like?"

"Well, that depends," Clarissa said as she edged a little closer to him. "Will you be paying?"

"Fine," Drew sighed. "I guess I'll pay."

"Wonderful!" Clarissa smiled and grabbed his arm to pull him back to the coffee shop. "I've been working on being more independent, but it hasn't gone well, so it's great you showed up."

"Yeah," Drew muttered and scoffed under his breath as he cursed his polite nature that had brought him into the orbit of this girl and would probably keep him there for a long time.

* * *

"You wouldn't _believe_ the sort of woman Dad has his eye on," Sam told his mother as he and Addie wheeled Selina out of the hospital to his car so they could take her home because Elijah was teaching his class and couldn't get away. "Uncle Stefan says she came in off the street."

Selina scoffed. "Well, that's an interesting choice. Is she staying at the boardinghouse? What does your uncle think about it?"

"I don't believe he likes her very much," Sam replied. "And I don't like her much either."

"She tried to hit on Sam right in front of me!" Addie cried, looking wounded. "Can you believe that?"

Selina sighed. "Some women just have no shame." She paused. "I'm really surprised and pleased that you two are the ones who came to pick me up. Did you say it was Elijah who called you and asked you to come?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "He called and told me that he'd be unable to get away cause he was teaching a class and would I please go and check you out instead?"

"That's surprising," Selina repeated. "Usually he's so territorial and doesn't really take it upon himself to be involved with people from my life that are reminders I've had relationships with other men besides him."

"Well, yeah, but he knows me," Sam pointed out. "He was the one you were living with when Lucy and I were kids, right?"

"Yeah," Selina sighed. "That was a crazy time, let me tell you." Sam and Lucy were twins, one fathered by Damon after a venting session that had involved _way_ too much drinking, the other by Klaus from a sex session that had happened once Selina had realized what she and Damon had done, and so she had had to spend a lot of time making up excuses and juggling her time so they both got attention and there was as little drama as possible. That had been the goal, of course. But not exactly the result.

"So he has more trust in me than he does Dad, which is probably why I was the one he called," Sam continued. "You want me to drop you off at your house?"

"Drop me off at my mother's first, please," Selina requested. "I need to show her that I'm still alive, otherwise she'll show up at the hospital and kill everyone."

"You mean she didn't come and visit you at the hospital to see if you were okay?" Addie asked. "Why not?"

"She did, but my mother is a worrier," Selina replied. "You can tell her a million times that something is gonna be okay, and she still won't believe you. Maybe it's her way of making up for not being so involved with me during my childhood. I don't know."

"But doesn't it make you glad that Doctor Stensrund lied to her when you were pregnant with Joshua so that she wasn't all over you then?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Boy, was _that_ a blessing. And speaking of, he visited me. Your brother, I mean."

"I thought he was supposed to be getting a well-deserved reward in the Great Beyond," Sam mused. "For someone who's dead, he sure goes back and forth a lot. Were you happy to see him?"

"Yes, I was," Selina nodded. "After I finished wetting myself from shock that is. Do you know how creepy it is to wake up in the dark and see a ghost standing over you, even if that ghost is your son?"

"You didn't _actually_ wet yourself did you?" Addie asked.

"No, but I came very close," Selina replied.

* * *

When they reached Amelia and Andrew's and knocked on the door, they noticed something a bit alarming when he opened it. His nose seemed to be broken and he had a very pronounced black eye.

"What the hell happened to you?" Selina asked as he invited them in. "You and Mama didn't get into a fight, did you?"

"Yes," Andrew sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "But not the way you're thinking, so there's no need to be alarmed."

"Okay," Amelia said and came up to him with a bag of ice. "Put this on your eye or your nose and it will help the swelling go down. I am _so_ sorry! Sometimes I don't know my own strength!" She kissed his cheek and then backed away to go stand next to her daughter.

"What is it that you did to my uncle?" Selina whispered. "You broke him!"

"I didn't mean to!" Amelia cried. "I was upset after what happened to you, and told your uncle I wanted to learn how to punch the daylights out of who did it, so he told me that he'd teach me how to box. I was doing a good job until the anger took over and I forget to aim at the right spot so your uncle couldn't block my punches in time and there you have the result." She gestured at her husband's face.

"Yeah, and the nutty thing is that I'm still considering resuming her lessons," Andrew added. "Am I crazy or what?"

"Well, whatever works for the two of you," Selina shrugged. "Anything else interesting going on?"

"Thomas had Davina over the other night," Amelia remarked casually.

"You didn't give him a lot of grief about having sex before he was married, did you?" Selina asked. "Or is that sort of lecture only reserved for your daughters?"

"No, I didn't say anything about it," Amelia replied. "I just acted like there was nothing unusual going on because Thomas is an adult who can make his own choices and it's not like he can get Davina pregnant anyway."

"But he'll probably want to be looking for a new place soon because of all your snooping, Amelia," Andrew told her with a grin.

" _My_ snooping?" Amelia asked, looking offended. "The majority of time something juicy about Thomas pops up, I'm hearing it from you. _You_ are the snooper, not me."

"You, me, both of us," Andrew grinned and then winced right after. "Tomayto, tomahto."

"But enough about Thomas," Amelia continued as she turned back to her daughter. "How are _you_ feeling? You look much better than you did when I last saw you."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I bet I do. They just discharged me."

"Good," Amelia smiled. "You won't be having any more accidents like that, will you?"

"I'll try not to," Selina promised. "But with the craziness that's going on in Elijah's family right now, you never know."

"I suppose that's something I can accept," Amelia nodded. "It's better than nothing."

"Don't forget to stop by and visit your father too," Andrew reminded her. "He's almost more worked up about your accident than your mother, and that's saying something."

"Oh, I won't forget to see him," Selina reassured her uncle as Amelia went to get everyone some coffee. "Don't worry about that."

* * *

"Is your family always such wet blankets?" Annie asked Damon. "Why are they always getting mad when I try to have fun?"

"Well, maybe my brother finds it annoying when you drink his alcohol and just make messes of everything," Damon told her. "And about that, would you please try and pick up after yourself? I like to keep the house tidy."

"Really?" Annie groaned and played with his hair. "I didn't take you to be the neat as a pin type."

"Well, I am," Damon told her firmly. "And since you're a witch, you can just zap all the mess away, you don't have any reason not to do what I ask."

"Fine," Annie huffed. "I'll clean up." She sat down next to him on his bed and he remarked, "I'm surprised you're spending so much time here. I thought you had a birth father to find. Or was that just an excuse to get me to give you a roof over your head?"

"No, I'm still planning on looking for my birth father," Annie assured him. "I just have to figure out how to go about it."

"Any idea how that will work?" Damon asked.

"Maybe you could help," Annie replied.

"How?" Damon questioned. "I don't know anything about your birth father."

"Fine," Annie frowned. "I'll figure it all out myself. It's not like I've never had to do that before."

"Yeah, all right," Damon said, his voice sharp. "Good luck!"

"Thank you," Annie replied and then looked in the phone book to see if she could find a Malachai McCullough.


	27. Giving A Little Push

"Any luck finding your friend?" Damon asked Annie as she rifled through the phone book.

"No," Annie huffed without turning to look at him. "And he's not my friend, he's my birth father. If you know something and could help, do it cause it would make this process go so much quicker." She then paused. "Damn!" She swore, licking her finger. "Paper cut! Those things really _do_ hurt like a bitch, don't they?"

"Yes, and let's not forget the healing qualities of saliva," Damon told her. "Blood can't taste good." He smirked. "Well, it does to me, but you're a witch, so I don't think you'd feel the same. Why don't we put a bandage on that?" He came over and took her hand out of her mouth to study the shallow cut on her finger just as blood began to well up again.

"Is that why you invited me to live here?" Annie asked. "So you could eat me?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "For some reason I felt sorry for you, so I offered to put a roof over your head. That's it. I _could_ have brought you home as prey, but somehow I didn't feel like it."

Annie snatched her hand away. "I would have preferred that to pity," she snapped. "I don't need your help. I can handle my cut by myself."

"Fine," Damon scoffed, and pushed her away. "Whatever you say." But he continued to watch her and snicker behind her back as she made her way through the heavy phone book.

"What?" She snapped.

"Nothing," Damon shrugged. "I just don't think you're going about this the best way."

"You got a better one?" Annie asked, crossing her arms and frowning. "Cause if you do, please share. It's really important to me that I find this guy."

Damon just stared at her and then with a huff of irritation, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out to his car. They ran into Stefan and Samantha along the way and had to stop for a moment so they could be interrogated.

"Where are you two going?" Stefan asked.

"None of your damn business!" Damon snapped.

They looked at one another and chuckled. "You know what that means," Stefan told Samantha. "You said the same thing when you had it in your head to keep that old boyfriend of yours in your life. But since he's gone now, I guess he couldn't handle you."

"Oh, don't be silly," Samantha said. "I was with Rocky to break up with him. I did that and now he's gone. But these two…" she turned back to Damon and Annie, "are a totally different story."

Annie huffed. "I was going to keep this to myself, but since you won't shut up about knowing what we're up to, we're going to meet with my birth father, Malachai McCullough." She expected more snarky remarks, but hearing that made Samantha's face change. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing," Samantha shook her head. "Well, it's not _nothing,_ but…he's _my_ birth father too. Parents had to go to a sperm donor and he was it. You want me to take you to him?"

Damon wanted to say 'Yes' just to see the veins throb in his brother's forehead, but took pity on him. "No, thanks," he said. "You don't have to do that. Just give us the address and we'll find the place ourselves."

"No, I would much rather she came with us," Annie got out.

"Why?" Damon asked, playing with Annie's hair. "Are you afraid to be alone with me?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," Annie replied and kicked him in the shins. "If we're alone and you try and pull something, you might end up hurt. Do you really want to risk it?"

"I'll take my chances," Damon replied as his eyes swept her body despite the fact that he was in pain. Then he looked at Samantha. "Are we gonna get the address or what?"

"Fine," Samantha rolled her eyes and got out a pen and some paper. "I'll give it to you since you asked so nicely and all."

Once it was written down, Damon snatched it out of her hand without so much as a 'Thank you', and soon, he and Annie were on their way to meet the birth father Annie never knew.

* * *

"So glad your mom is back," Clarissa told Drew as she took her spot next to him at their cooking station.

"Yeah, I bet you are," Drew told her. "Because Mom is gentler with you than the sub was. That's probably why you're so happy to see her again."

"Hey!" Clarissa cried. "I was just trying to show you some sympathy. The least you could do is say 'Thank you'."

"Not when your remarks aren't sincere, I won't!" Drew replied. "I'm not going to praise you every time you act like a decent person. That's something you should be doing just because it's the right thing to do. Not because you know you'll get some sort of praise or reward after you do it."

Clarissa stomped on his foot then and he let out a cry, which interrupted Selina's lecture and made her turn around.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, sorry," Drew apologized and tried not to wince. "It's fine."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Now, do you all have your recipes?"

The class nodded.

"Good, I'll let you get to work then, and if you need help, just tell me."

It was then, as everyone got to work, that Drew left his station and hobbled up to his mother's desk. "I think I need to go see the nurse," he said.

"Why?" Selina asked. "Would it explain why you're walking funny?"

"Yes!" Drew nodded. "Clarissa stomped on my foot and she was wearing _heels!"_

"What did you do to deserve that?" Selina wanted to know.

"Nothing," Drew shook his head. "She said she was glad you were back and then told me to thank her for making such a comment and I said that she shouldn't expect praise for acting like a decent human being, and that's when she stomped on my foot."

Selina gave him a hug. "Give her time," she suggested. "I know it's pain to deal with people like her in many ways, but I must've hurt your father lots of times before he finally got through to me. Now, that's not to say you _have_ to keep giving her chances if you don't feel she deserves them. If you think she's a pain in the butt, then she's a pain in the butt, and there's nothing you can do about it. But I think that all she needs is some positive encouragement and she'll come around."

"All right," Drew nodded. "I'll think about it. Can I go to the nurses' office now?"

"Oh, of course, go ahead," Selina nodded and let him go. "Sorry I kept you so long."

"It's okay," Drew told her and hobbled to the door. "It'll heal eventually. I don't think I'm gonna lose my foot, even though it feels like it's gonna fall off at the moment."

Once he'd left and shut the door behind him, a burning smell met Selina's nose. She looked up and saw a small fire burning in the pan Clarissa held. "Oh, god!" She cried, running over and smothering it. "It's okay, everyone! The fire is out! There is no danger!"

But this happened often enough with Clarissa that no one seemed too alarmed by it and as Selina helped her throw the burnt food in the trash, she said, "All right, go ahead and yell at me."

"For what?" Selina asked. "Everyone burns things when they're starting out. It's not a problem."

"Not about that," Clarissa shook her head. "About Drew. Aren't you mad about what I did to him?"

"He's old enough that he doesn't need me to fight his battles for him," Selina told her firmly. "Whatever made you stomp on his foot is between you and him and is none of my business."

"Really?" Clarissa asked in amazement. She was used to her parents stepping in and fighting every battle she'd ever had so seeing Selina leave things alone was definitely a new experience.

Selina then looked at her hand. "Seems like you have a burn," she remarked. "You might want to go to the nurse and have that checked out."

"Even though Drew is there too?" Clarissa asked.

"Yes," Selina told her firmly. "Even though Drew is there too. And then the two of you can come in after school and finish your recipe so I don't have to give you an incomplete. Would that work for you?"

"Sure," Clarissa nodded. "I guess." Then she headed to the nurse's office where Drew sat with ice on his bare foot. "What?" He huffed when he saw her. "Come to hurt me some more?"

"No," Clarissa shook her head. "Hard as it may be to believe, not everything I do is about you. I burned myself trying to cook and your mom wanted me to get it looked at."

Drew sighed and bit his wrist, holding it out. "Drink some," he urged her.

"But my god, that's _blood_!" Clarissa said, gagging.

"Yeah, but it'll heal you up and you can go and work with Mom to finish our project so we don't have to stay after school. Unless you want to do that?" Drew asked.

"No!"Clarissa shook her head. "Of course not." Then she stared at Drew's wrist before taking a deep breath, grabbing his arm, and slurping up some of the blood. It took some time before she could swallow, but after she did, she noticed the burn healing.

"All right," Drew told her once they both knew it was gone. "Go and finish our project now. I know you can do it."

"You think?" Daisy asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Drew nodded. "And if Mom sees you're trying, she'll help you out. It'll be fine. Now go!"

"All right, jeez," Clarissa told him as she made her way to the door of the nurse's office. "You don't have to be so pushy, my god."

* * *

"Amy."

Amy heard the voice and turned to face the library door, gasping when she saw her husband there with a bouquet of red roses in hand. "Well, hello," she said and came to join him. "Things all right with Selina since she got out of the hospital?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "But I think we don't need to talk about her anymore." He handed her the flowers. "This should go without saying, but these are for you."

"Well, thanks," Amy said and smelled them. "What for?"

"I just…I wanted you to know that I still remember who my wife is, even though it might seem like my mind has been elsewhere this last week or so," Klaus replied with a smile as Amy zapped up a vase to put her flowers in.

"Oh, I don't think you've forgotten and I understand," Amy replied. "Selina is important to you, and that was a terrible thing that happened to her."

"The flowers are for something else, too," Klaus replied. "They're an apology."

"An apology?" Amy asked as she put her arms around him. "For what? You don't usually apologize for anything."

"Yes, I know," Klaus sighed and gave her a kiss. "It's just that…when we found Selina's body, when Elijah thought that he was going to lose her, he was more upset than I've seen him be in years. And after she woke up, he was so happy and relieved. He just…he held onto her for so long and wouldn't let anyone near her."

"Yes," Amy nodded. "I remember."

"That…that's what you deserve," he told her. "And I…I want you to know that I might not be capable of that depth of feeling."

"Maybe not now," Amy nodded. "But you will be someday. Elijah and Selina were just like that once, remember? Your brother had to do all the caring for a time, just to show Selina that she was worth something to someone and I'm perfectly all right doing the same for you."

Klaus sighed. "Thank you, but…what if it doesn't work? What if all I'm capable of is killing you, hurting you, or making your life nothing but a mess?"

"We've had our problems," Amy told him firmly. "But we've had our good moments too. You saved me from the dullness and boredom of an arranged marriage. Sure, when I ran off to Europe with baby Vivi, I contemplated not coming back. But I did in the end, didn't I? You give me a challenge every day, and we have three beautiful daughters, among other things. Don't beat yourself up too much. It's not warranted at all. At least not at the level you do it." She slipped a warm hand into his and they stood in silence for a moment before Klaus cleared his throat, and said, "Would you like to go and take a walk? Maybe have an actual conversation that lasts more than two minutes? It's been a while since we've done that."

"Yes, it has," Amy nodded as they made their way to the door. "But what would we talk about?"

"Anything and everything," Klaus shrugged. "I just want to hear your voice. I've missed it."

"All right," Amy nodded. "Let's go."


	28. My Sister's Friend

"I have to tell you, I'm really glad you and Percy are happy," Drew told Stephanie.

"Are you really?" Stephanie asked. "I thought that you wouldn't want me anywhere near your friend."

"Well, I didn't when you were mean to him and treating him like crap, but now that you and he are getting along and he seems to like you, I don't mind it so much." He paused. "Speaking of our being with each other's friends…will you talk me up to your friend Clarissa? I mean, we've worked together in cooking class and I think Mom is trying to set us up or something, but we're not close. Or at least not as close as I would like us to be."

Stephanie giggled. "You like Clarissa? Why? She's just like I was when I was snobby and you hate that!"

"True," Drew nodded. "But I just…I think she's pretty."

Stephanie chuckled. "I wish you the best of luck," she told him. "I hope you get a lot further with her than I think you will. You might. Just don't tell her that you think she's pretty. So many people have told her that that she won't pay attention unless you say something else."

"You mean it?" Drew asked. "You aren't just messing with me?"

"No, I'm being honest, I _swear,_ " Stephanie told him firmly. "Just like you were when you helped me with Percy."

"All right," Drew nodded. "Thank you for the advice."

"You're welcome," Stephanie replied. "Good luck."

* * *

Taking his sister's advice into consideration, the next day, Drew took a seat next to Clarissa in Amelia's lit class before Stephanie could get there and take the chair herself.

"Hi," he said, giving her his most radiant smile.

"Hello," Clarissa replied without looking at him as she rifled around in her bag for her notes. "Does Stephanie know you're sitting there?"

"Does it matter?" Drew asked. "Our seats aren't assigned."

Clarissa found her notes, put them on her desk, and shrugged. "Whatever."

He looked at her notebook labeled "American Lit," and said, "May I look at your notes? I didn't have time to do the reading last night, and I'm sure you did."

"Sure, if you want," Clarissa replied. "Just be sure to give them back after you're done."

Drew thanked her, grabbed the notebook and leafed through the notes until he got to the ones on the day before. He _had_ done the reading, of course, but this was the way he was getting her attention since Stephanie told her not to say Clarissa was pretty. "You didn't like Daisy Buchanan?" He said and looked up at her from the elaborate curly writing.

"No," Clarissa sighed. "She's just…she's kind of shallow. A stereotype, you know? The snobby blonde rich girl? I can't wait to read something else."

"I can understand," Drew nodded. "And…I liked those strawberry tarts we made in cooking today. You picked well."

"Thanks," Clarissa smiled. "It was my grandmother's recipe, and when your mom said bring a recipe in, I knew I had to bring that one."

She seemed to be receptive to his compliments, so Drew went a little further. "You wanna come over to my house and make another batch with me sometime? I think it would be fun." He paused. "Or do you not want to because you spend enough time around my mother as it is and don't want to spend more?"

Clarissa sighed. "Look," she told him. "I really appreciate the effort you're making with me. It's a lot more than other guys do, but…things are complicated at my house right now. My parents want my sister to marry a rich family friend and knowing how gung-ho they are about that, it's only a matter of time before they doom me to the same fate. You're nice and I don't want us to get involved and then have my parents hurt you or something because you're not who they want me to be with. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand that part," Drew nodded. "And I guess I'm grateful for the concern, but…I wish you wouldn't just give up what you want, especially if it's just for my sake. I'm not scared of your parents, so you don't have to worry for me. We can do whatever you want to be together. We don't have to see each other every moment of the day. We can just leave each other notes in our lockers at school if that's what you want. As long as I can get to know you better, however you choose to do that is all right with me."

Clarissa sighed and shook her head as he eyed her intently without blinking. She honestly wasn't sure how to handle this. No one had ever wanted to get to know her so badly, which is why she really didn't want to hurt him. But at the same time, if he said that he could handle whatever her parents threw at them (and he seemed pretty sure that he could) who was she to deny him?

"All right," she conceded. "We'll start out slow. Do the notes thing you were talking about and if it goes all right and we aren't caught after a few weeks, we'll go from there, all right?"

"Thank you," Drew told her. "You won't regret this."

Maybe I will, she thought to herself as Amelia entered the room and wrote the day's lesson on the blackboard and Drew turned around in his chair to ready his notes for the lecture. But I'll try not to.

* * *

"I can't believe we finally found my birth father," Annie got out as she sat next to Damon on the sofa. "I didn't think it would be as easy as getting out the phone book or looking up an address. Most people think it will be or hope it will be, but for me, it actually was."

"And what do you think of him?" Damon asked. "You like him? Well, from what you've seen, anyway."

"He seems all right," Annie replied. "Better than my parents. And it's nice to know where I got my magic from."

"I bet," Damon nodded. "Maybe next time, you'll actually let me take you in the house instead of having us just sit in the car and watch them from the street."

"But what about the woman he's with?" Annie's face twisted. "You think she's gonna be a problem? I don't want to go in until I know she's not gonna be a problem."

"Helene?" Damon asked. "No, she definitely won't be. As long as I've known her, she's never been anything but nice."

"Well, I hope so," Annie replied. "I finally found my father and I don't want anyone or anything wrecking that relationship." She paused. "And I should probably, you know, thank you for your help. It would have been a lot harder without it."

"You're welcome," Damon replied gruffly and got up. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"You want me to come with?" Annie asked.

Damon froze and turned around. "Like I could stop you if you really wanted to," he told her and then headed off to shower.

It was while he was in the shower that the phone rang. Annie waited a few seconds and then grabbed it. "Hello," she said. "Damon's house. Annie speaking."

"Oh, you're back!" Said a female voice on the other end. "Good. We called earlier and no one was home. This is Samantha, by the way. Were you visiting Malachai again?"

"Actually, I haven't visited him yet," Annie confessed. "Not face to face, anyway. I thought about it when I first found his address, but I chickened out and now Damon and I just park the car across from his house and watch him. He seems nice though."

"He is," Samantha assured her. "You don't have to be scared of him. He got me, my brother, and our friend Davina out of the asylum where our parents had stuck us because they didn't know what to do about our powers and gave us a home. He's a good guy. And so is Helene, who lives with him. And they have a couple of our other half-siblings too."

"Jeez, how many are there?" Annie asked.

"A lot," Samantha replied. "Malachai needed to father thirteen of us to help him stop his sister and her husband from taking over the world or something."

"Wow," Annie said and swallowed nervously. "That's a lot of pressure for someone who didn't know whether she was gonna have a pillow under her head at night not too long ago."

"Oh, I'm sure we won't have to fight her _now_ ," Samantha assured her. "I bet we'll have time."

"We better," Annie told her. "Cause I'm not ready yet."

"You want me to take you to meet Malachai tomorrow?" Samantha offered. "Give our boyfriends a chance to do a little brotherly bonding?"

"Sure, thanks," Annie replied as Damon came into the living room with wet hair and a towel around his waist. "That'll be perfect. I'm sure Damon will be glad to have some time off from me anyway."

She hung up and Damon looked at her suspiciously. "What's going on?" He asked with narrowed eyes. "What have you done now?"

"Nothing," Annie assured him. "Samantha is taking me to meet Malachai tomorrow and you don't have to be there. That's what's going on."

"All right," Damon nodded. "Sounds good. Tell Helene 'Hello' from me when you see her."

"I will," Annie told him. "I promise."

* * *

"Okay, what's going on?" Selina asked after a seemingly frustrated Elijah called her into his office. "Are you thinking about Phoenix stuff again? Have I done something to frustrate you? What's going on?"

"No, it's not you, and I'm _very_ surprised it's not the latter," Elijah just shook his head hopelessly at the papers he was grading. "It's these papers. Very few people actually know the answers. Do you think _anyone_ pays attention when I lecture?" He paused. "Maybe I wasn't cut out for teaching. Maybe I should just quit."

"Oh, no!" Selina ran over to him and sat on his lap. "Don't you do that! You're more suited for your job than anyone else they could hire!"

"But what good am I if I can't help students learn the material?" Elijah asked. "How do you make sure your students pay attention to _you_?"

"Well, they know that if they don't, they might chop off a finger or set themselves on fire, and with the latter thing, that could be the end for some of my students, so they listen." Her eyes lit up. "You know that decapitation trick you do? What if you threatened them with it unless they listened to you?"

"Darling!" Elijah remonstrated, looking shocked. "As desperate as I am, that's still highly unethical!"

"You wouldn't actually _do_ it," Selina assured him quickly. "Sometimes, just the threat of it happening is enough to keep people in line."

"No, thank you," Elijah sighed and looked down at the papers. "Any other ideas that don't involve hurting anyone?"

"You could ask my mother," Selina shrugged. "She's been teaching longer than either of us combined. Maybe she has a few ideas." She paused. "What if you personalized your lectures? Like instead of just stating facts about events that everyone has heard, tell personal stories from when _you_ lived in that time. It could help bring things to life better. Make your lectures more compelling."

"Hmmm…" Elijah said thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. I'll try that."

"Good," Selina smiled.

"And I'm so pleased that issue with Stephanie seems to be handled," Elijah told her, taking her hand. "Thank you, very much."

"You're welcome," Selina smiled.

"And as a reward, I want to tell you that I've decided to up your blood intake," Elijah informed her. "Build up your strength so that when you're attacked again, you'll actually have a chance to fight back."

"You mean I get a _whole_ bag now?" Selina smiled.

"Not right away, but if I build you up little by little, then you should eventually be able to handle a full bag of blood without losing control," Elijah smiled. "That's my hope, anyway."

"Sounds like a plan," Selina played with his hair and kissed him. "Can't wait to start my new diet. And when will that be?"

"As soon as possible, I think," Elijah told her. "Don't you?"


	29. You Can't Save The Whole World

"Okay, here goes nothing," Annie said when Samantha showed up at the door and they got in the car to head to Malachai's house.

"I've told you a thousand times that you have nothing to worry about," Samantha told her and squeezed her hand. "He's a nice man."

Annie tried to keep this in mind as they drove and then pulled up to the house that Annie had seen so many times, but had never gone inside.

"Here we are," Samantha told her brightly. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Annie replied and took a deep breath. They headed to the front door and gave it a knock. Then Malachai opened the door.

"Samantha!" He said and embraced her. Then he looked at Annie and smiled. "Hello," he said and held out his hand. "What's your name?"

"Annie," she got out, and then fainted right there on the front step, overwhelmed by meeting him for the first time.

"Oh, my god, is she all right?" Malachai asked worriedly as he and Samantha picked the unconscious girl up and carried her to the living room sofa. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's a little overwhelmed meeting you for the first time, I guess," Samantha told him. "She's another one of us kids, you know."

"I _do_ know," Malachai nodded. "I can recognize all of you right off." He paused. "We'll have to find some way to make her comfortable with me. Any ideas?"

"Well, I don't think she's had much in a way of family life, so…so maybe just spend time with her and talk about hobbies and stuff," Samantha shrugged. "If you do that, she'll stop thinking of you as some great mystical person and just as a guy who happens to be her father. That's what you want, right?"

"Yeah," Malachai nodded. "It is."

"Oh, my god!" Helene said when she came into the living room and saw Annie on the sofa. "Who's that? What's happened?"

"It's another one of my children, Helene!" Malachai explained.

" _Another_ one?" Helene asked as she sunk down into a chair. "How many are there again?"

"There can't be too many more we don't know about," Malachai assured her. "There's only thirteen to begin with."

"Do you really think you'll need that many?" Helene asked. "What are we supposed to do with them?"

"Yes, we do need that many because remember who we're going up against," Malachai reminded her. "And I know we won't have enough space to keep them all here, but I'm sure we'll think of something."

"Of course we will," Helene nodded. "We don't really have any other choice, do we?" She saw that Annie's eyes were beginning to open and stood up. "I'll go get her some tea. She could probably use it."

"She doesn't seem like a tea person," Samantha told her. "Try soda."

"All right," Helene nodded. "I will. Percy's got to have some around here. I'm sure he won't mind sharing."

By the time Annie was awake and sitting up, Helene had a cup of soda in hand and was helping her drink it. "Are you going to be all right?" She asked.

"Yeah," Annie nodded. "Thanks, I'll be fine." She paused and shook her head. "Wow, my knees never buckled like that before."

"Well, we're just glad you didn't hit your head," Malachai told her. "Cause that would have been awful."

"Are you really my birth father?" Annie asked him in a hushed voice.

"Yes," Malachai told her. "I am. Now, tell me about you."

Annie shrugged. "Not much to tell. Human parents who didn't know what to do with my powers, Dad abused me, ran away from home when I was thirteen, and I've been living hand to mouth ever since. But you don't have to feel sorry for me."

"Oh, of course not," Malachai shook his head. "You seem to have managed well enough. But am I correct in thinking that you don't want to anymore if you don't have to?"

"Yeah," Annie nodded and took another drink. "It's nice living in a house and knowing I'm gonna have a pillow under my head when I go to sleep."

"You have a house already?" Malachai asked. "Where are you living?"

"With a guy I met outside the grocery store," Annie explained. "He's nice. You don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be living with some man you just met? How well do you know him?" Helene asked.

"It's Damon Salvatore," Samantha told her. "She should be all right."

"Oh, yes," Helene nodded. "If he can look after my daughter all right, you should be fine with him, Annie."

"But thanks for the offer," Annie told Malachai quickly. "I appreciate it. It's not often that someone's been so nice to me."

"Well, I do what I can," Malachai said and cleared his throat. "What would you like to do now?"

"I think I'd just like to talk, if that's all right with you," Annie told him. "I want to get to know you and stuff before all this 'save the world' business happens."

"Right, of course," Malachai nodded. "I'm sure you do."

Just then the phone rang and Helene went to answer it. She talked for a little while and then came back to tell Malachai that her mother had just called. "So I'm gonna go see what she wants and that will give you and Annie time to talk without my interrupting."

"All right," Malachai nodded. "And if what she has to tell you is anything we need to deal with, let me know."

"Of course I will," Helene replied and grabbed her coat and keys. "See you later."

* * *

When Helene arrived at Klaus and Amy's where her mother had called from, she found her parents sitting at a table with Klaus and Amy. Mikael sat on Amy's other side.

"All right, what's going on?" Helene asked, taking a seat next to her father, who put an arm around her. "Something bad happen?"

"Not bad, precisely," Mikael told her. "But I thought that it would be best for me to share it anyway: I got a visit from Freya."

"Your daughter who we all know is being held hostage by the Phoenix?" Helene asked. "Did she come to tell you that she's sorry and wants to change sides?"

"No," Mikael shook his head and smirked. "Quite the opposite, in fact. Freya wants me to side with _her_."

"But if the Phoenix's goal is to kill all of you except her, then why would she ask you to stay with her?" Helene asked. "Wouldn't that go against the Phoenix's plans?"

"It would, but I have a feeling that my daughter has plans of her own, which she should," Mikael nodded. "She's much too good to just be a tool of someone else's."

"And are you going to side with her?" Astrid asked him. "Do we have to worry?"

"Not permanently," Mikael shook his head. "I'd never hear the end of it from Gwendolyn if I did that. But I think for a time, exploiting this trust that she seems to have in me might be useful."

"Oh, that's a wonderful plan," Klaus said and rolled his eyes. "I can't see that backfiring on you _at all_."

"Klaus, he's trying to help us," Amy told her husband firmly. "Be polite."

"Listen to your wife, boy," Mikael told him firmly, a smirk curving his lips. "Cause I don't have to help you. It would give me great pleasure to see you be tossed into the fire, but for the sake of those you love, I won't do it. I'm showing restraint. You should be grateful."

Amy had to shoot Klaus with a spell preventing movement so he wouldn't throw himself across the table and attack Mikael. "Not now," she told him firmly. "It won't do any good."

"Yes," Alistair sighed. "Let's all calm down and think about what to do next."

"We don't have to think about it," Mikael told him. "I'll go talk to Freya, see what's going on next with our friend the Phoenix, and then report back. What else is there to say?"

"Nothing, except 'Good luck' and 'Thank you', I guess," Astrid replied. "Don't forget to tell us everything after you talk with her."

"I won't," Mikael promised her and kissed her hand while Alistair rolled his eyes and bounced on his heels. "You have my word."

* * *

"I know we didn't have a lot of time to talk since our last visit was so brief," Mikael said to Freya. "But I have to tell you how pleased I am about what you did a few weeks back."

"And just what is that?" Freya wanted to know, a smile on her lips. "I've done many things."

"Hurting your brother's wife so much that she had to be put in the hospital," Mikael chuckled. "I've been waiting for the opportunity to do that for years, but the chance has never come. Your brother watches her too closely."

"This is a pleasant surprise," Freya told him. "I thought you'd be as upset with me as the rest of the family about that. I mean, not that I know for sure, but they probably will be."

"Me?" Mikael shook his head. "Of course not. That woman made me look like a fool. What is it that _you_ have against her?"

"She was married to Alexander," Freya replied with narrowed eyes. "And she broke his heart. The man was fragile enough already without her adding to it. And to top it off, she's also had relationships with _two more_ of my brothers. She has to be stopped, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Mikael nodded and looked his daughter in the eye. "I've always thought so. How do you plan on accomplishing that?"

Freya opened her mouth to speak and then narrowed her eyes at her father. "I can't tell you unless I have your unquestionable loyalty. You won't betray me, will you, Father?"

"No," Mikael replied immediately and gave her a hug as he ran his fingers through her blonde hair. "Why would I betray my favorite daughter?"

"I don't know," Freya shook her head. "I hope you wouldn't. I really do."

* * *

Clarissa's morning at home had been rough. Her parents were still pushing Daisy to be kind to Blake, and even to start thinking about wedding plans. And although Daisy was not completely comfortable with rebelling, she was starting to speak up for herself, which led to fighting, which escalated to levels that gave Clarissa a headache and made her want to hide in the bathroom until it was all over.

Needless to say, she was relieved to get to school and have some other thing to focus on. Even schoolwork was preferable. Taking a deep breath, she opened her locker and prepared to put her bag in when she saw something fall out. It was a square slip of folded paper that fluttered to the ground. She picked it up, opened it, and read it.

 _Dear Clarissa,_

 _Good morning! I know you probably had a tough morning, but I was thinking about you. Keep your chin up. You're wonderful._

 _Drew_

She read the note several times, a squeak emitting from her as she held the note against her chest. Then she started as the bell rang and she stuffed Drew's note in her pocket before running to her class, arriving just in time to give Drew a smile and take a seat next to him.

"You look happy," he remarked. "Get anything interesting in your locker this morning?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Clarissa nodded. "Thank you so much for that, by the way. I _really_ needed it."

"I thought you would, which is why I did it," Drew told her. "I can't wait to see what you write me."

"Well, you won't have to wait long," she said and then turned to face the front as the teacher came in and began the lecture. As she wrote her notes, she noticed that Drew's hand just lay at his side with nothing to do, so she reached over and grabbed it, holding it tight. He looked up at her for a moment, his pencil pausing on the paper, then gave her hand a squeeze. They spent the rest of class writing notes and holding hands, but parted ways afterward because he had to go to math and she a free period with no class at all.

"It's probably better this way," she told him. "This'll give me time to write your surprise note and put it in your locker. It wouldn't be any fun if you saw me do it, would it?"

"No, I guess it wouldn't," Drew shook his head. "I'll see you in cooking."

"Yes," Clarissa smiled. "You definitely will." She watched him go, admiring how he looked walking away from her, and then when he was out of sight, she ran to his locker, zapped up a piece of paper, and quickly wrote

 _You have nice hands and I love holding them. Can't wait to have you help me turn up the heat in cooking class! And thanks…thanks for the note this morning. It really made me feel so much better like I already told you._

 _Clarissa_

Then she tucked the note among his binders, shut the door, and headed to the library

* * *

"You and Clarissa seem to be getting along well," Selina smiled at Drew in the rear view mirror on the ride home from school. "I'm so pleased."

"I'm more than happy to be there for her," Drew told his mother. "She doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention at home. She has to get it from somewhere."

"Well, you can ask her to come over for dinner any time," Selina said. "If she wants a good home-cooked meal, I'd be more than happy to give it to her. I've had dinner in a big house with a rich family before and it's not exactly conducive to warm and fuzzy feelings."

"I'll ask and see what she says," Drew assured his mother. "Not sure she'll say 'Yes', but it'll be good to know she has that for an option when things just get to be too much."

Selina sighed. "I bet her parents are so worked up about her sister that they don't care _what_ Clarissa does, do they? That's why she needs us. Within reason, of course. If I tried too hard, that would just be weird."

"Maybe at this point," Stephanie told her. "But in time, it will probably be greatly appreciated."

"Yeah, definitely," Selina nodded. "I know it will. I just hope your father will be okay with it."

* * *

"I don't know about this plan of yours to take Clarissa in," Elijah told her when Selina finally mentioned it to him. "It's not like she's an orphan. Her parents may be negligent, but it's not like they're dead."

"I'm not proposing that Clarissa come _live_ with us," Selina corrected. "I just want her to know that she can come have peace and quiet here for some time when she needs it. Or dinner if things get too awkward during meals at her house. You know why I need to at least _ask_ , right?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded and took her in his arms. "Your desire to make up for your own neglected childhood by making sure others have one is quite remarkable."

"And silly," Selina nodded. "Go ahead, that's what you're thinking. You can say it."

"No, it's not silly!" Elijah shook his head. "Just stop inviting people once we run out of rooms for them to sleep in, all right? Because no matter how determined you are, you can't save the whole world."

"All right," Selina nodded. "I'll try and remember that."

They stood in silence for a few seconds and then Selina said, "I was thinking of taking a bath. Would you like to join me?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded and then took her hand to lead her to the bathroom and turn the water on and watched it flow into the tub for a few seconds. His attention was quickly averted though as Selina quickly undressed, scampered naked to the tub, and climbed into the warm water, pouring some bubble bath under the faucet.

"Your turn," she told him, a wicked smile on her face as bubbles rose around her. "You have to undress now."

He smirked at the hot look she was giving him. She could never be called 'subtle' when it came to expressing sexual desire, which is why he occasionally felt the need to tease her.

He took off his jacket, his tie, his shoes, his socks, and his shirt, and then removed his belt so that he was just standing in his pants and boxers. Then he paused and put a real uncertain look on his face, nervously moving from one foot to the other.

"What?" Selina groaned. "What's the matter? Why did you stop? You were doing so well!"

"Well," Elijah sighed and averted his eyes. "It just…it _embarrasses_ me that you look at me like you want me that much. You know how shy I am about being undressed in front of you. I'm going to go into the toilet room and undress the rest of the way." He took a few steps away from the tub, and it wasn't long before his bubble-covered wife had bounded out of it and pinned him against the closed door of the room that held the toilet. "What kind of bullshit is this?" She said through her teeth. "You _like_ driving me crazy, don't you?"

"Maybe," Elijah smirked. "What will you do about it?"

"This," Selina replied and quickly unzipped and unbuttoned his pants, pulling them down and throwing them aside and then doing the same with his boxers. "Now," she said and pointed. "Get in the damn tub! This is just like when your mother put that spell on me that fucked with my limbs and you had to bathe me but insisted on wearing trunks in the water!"

"I had a perfectly reasonable excuse that time," Elijah replied as he got in the tub. "You were married to Niklaus at the time, and I was married to Susan. She had just been killed and it wouldn't have been proper for me to give into my feelings for you. I had to show some restraint."

"Well, now you have no excuses," Selina replied and kissed him before laying her dark head on his bare chest. "Now you can show me _all_ the feelings. So hop to it!"

They began kissing again as their hands went all over each other's bodies. And then, as Selina stroked Elijah under the water, he said thoughtfully, "What do you think would happen if you drank _my_ blood on a more regular basis than you do now? Would it have a worse result than when you consume human blood in large quantities?"

"You wouldn't like the end result," Selina told him firmly. "Although I'm going by what happened with Klaus and not you. But it wasn't pretty. I killed people and set Adrian and Helene's school on fire, and then Alistair came to tell me it was on the news the next day."

"You're right," Elijah nodded and then gave a moan and a twitch. "Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for you to take blood from me on a regular basis, but I think it might be good in the case of an emergency."

"You mean, leave me some if your sister tries to hurt me again?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded and took her face in his hands. "Exactly."

A little while later, he began washing her with a loofah. She let this go on for a little bit before saying, "I know we said that I wasn't gonna have your blood on a regular basis, but can I have a little now? Please?"

"All right," Elijah nodded. "But just a little."

So she got on her knees and threw her arms around his neck before biting down and sucking greedily from the wound, hissing angrily when he detached her and held her at arms' length. "I said you could just have a _little_. Remember?"

"Yeah," Selina sighed as her fangs retracted. "That was something that was a lot easier to obey before I had that tasty ruby goodness in my mouth though." She paused and licked his neck. "Is there _any_ part of you that doesn't taste good?"

Elijah chuckled and then held her against himself again. "No," he told her. "Not that I know personally, but I'd like to think there isn't."


	30. On The Edge

_Meet me in the parking lot during lunch_

 _D_

Clarissa read over the note over and over again, wondering what in the hell he meant. Usually they ate together, but what could Drew possibly want in the parking lot?

She thought about the note all day and then, when it was time to go to lunch, she went past the cafeteria and out to the parking lot, expecting to see Drew, but seeing no one.

"Drew?" She called. "Drew, are you here?" Then she let out a cry as she felt someone grab her around the waist, turn her around, and kiss her soundly. She initially froze out of shock, but then put her arms around him and kissed him back, then pulled away from him and kissed him again.

"So this is what you wanted to do in the parking lot?" Clarissa asked, panting.

"Yeah," Drew smiled. "What else would I want you to do here? Look at all the cars?"

"All right," Clarissa nodded. "I had that coming. That was a dumb question. So you want us to just stand in the parking lot and kiss all of lunch?"

"Well, yes," Drew nodded and leaned toward her. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes," Clarissa nodded and stepped away. "It's not very romantic, is it? And I can't skip lunch. I'm not a vampire like you. I have to eat actual food to stay alive."

"Oh," Drew nodded and looked a little bummed. "Right. Sorry."

"That's okay," Clarissa told him. "It was a nice idea."

They headed inside and went back to eat and Clarissa tried to start conversation, but Drew, who was clearly embarrassed at how his enthusiasm for being near her had turned out to actually be selfish, wouldn't make eye contact, much less say anything.

"Hey," she said and put her hand under his chin so he had to make eye contact with her. "I'm not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, I did," Drew told her. "If I wasn't so selfish, I would have realized that you can't just skip lunch."

Clarissa chuckled. "Actually, if things were different, I would gladly skip lunch every once in a while to go make out somewhere with you."

"So it's more about your parents than anything _I_ did?" Drew asked.

"Yeah," Clarissa nodded. "Exactly. It's nice to get a break from all their nonsense at school and be with someone whose company I actually _enjoy_ , but I don't think we should go too far with it. I don't want you to be hurt. So let's just stick with the notes from now on and lunch together like we were doing before. It would be better for both of us."

"Yeah," Drew nodded. "I guess you're right. Whatever you want."

"Thank you for understanding," Clarissa replied and gave him a kiss on the cheek before getting up from the table and going to get her lunch. She took a few steps and then turned around. "You want me to bring you back some pie or something?"

"Yeah," Drew nodded. "Apple would be nice. Thanks."

* * *

"How did the meeting with Malachai go?" Damon asked Annie. "Do you like him?"

"Yeah, he's nice," Annie nodded. "He offered me a place at his house, so if you're sick of me, I have somewhere else I can go."

"Oh, I suppose I can put up with you," Damon said and put a hand on Annie's thigh.

"The hand," Annie said and put hers on his. "Move it."

"Okay," Damon smiled and moved his hand up her arm. "Should I put it here?" He asked. Then moved it up to stroke her cheek. "Or here?"

Annie then grabbed his hand and bit it, then gave him a good hard slap.

"What was that for?" Damon groaned and put a hand on his face. "We were getting along so well!"

"If you call that getting along well, it probably would be better if I moved out," Annie spat. "You just go to show that because a guy is handsome doesn't mean he has class."

* * *

Stefan came by later in the day and saw Annie's bags by the door. "Well, look at that," he said. "What's going on? Did you get dumped?"

Just as Damon was about to answer, Annie came down the hallway with a few more things including a brush and her shampoo and conditioner. She paused just out of sight to hear what Damon said in response.

"I didn't get dumped," he assured his brother. Annie couldn't see whether he was smirking or not, but it sounded like he was. "I was the one who told her she had to move on."

"So you're not interested?" Stefan asked. "I thought that was the whole reason why you brought her here in the first place. Cause you just deciding to invite her out of charity would be so uncharacteristic of you. You don't do anything unless you can get something out of it."

"I thought I would be able to do something with her, but apparently not," Damon told him dismissively and gestured at the table where Annie's breakfast dishes still lay. "She's a complete slob. You know me. You know I can't be interested in anyone like that."

"True," Stefan nodded. "So true."

Even though Annie had no real interest in Damon either, his harsh words hurt her. Sure they were what she'd heard her whole life, but that didn't make hearing it from yet another person any less painful. She felt some hot tears run down her cheeks and then she quickly wiped them away before standing up straight, taking a deep breath, and striding into the living room.

"Well," she said as she threw her brush down hard on Damon's foot. "These are the last of my things. If you'll be willing to drive me to Malachai's now, you won't have to deal with me after that." She paused. "Or better yet, just give me the fucking keys and I'll drive myself!"

"No!" Damon shook his head and held his keys close to his chest. "I'm definitely driving you. Otherwise you'll probably go on a detour, get food, and find some way to spill soda and stuff all over the leather."

"Oh, please," Annie shot back, her eyes narrowed. "If I was gonna spill something all over the leather, it would be your blood and nothing else."

"What do you have to say to that, Damon?" Stefan asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I say you should stay out of this, Stefan," Damon answered. Then he turned his attention back to Annie. "Let's go," he said. "I don't want to keep you."

"Good," Annie said. "Cause like I said, I sure as hell don't want to stay where I'm not wanted."

* * *

"You want to talk about what happened with Damon?" Helene asked later as she and Annie made a bed for her.

"No," Annie sighed. "It just…it just didn't work out. There's not much more to talk about."

"All right," Helene replied. "But I'm glad that you're here."

"That's okay," Annie told her. "You don't need to say that just to make me feel better."

"I'm not," Helene replied. "I really _am_ glad to have you. And Malachai is too."

Annie paused tucking the sheet into the bed and said, "Samantha mentioned something about me being part of some big plan of Malachai's involving his sister. Do you know anything about that?"

"I do," Helene nodded and put a hand on her arm. "But you just got here. I'm sure Malachai will insist that you have time to settle in before he explains all that to you."

Just then, there was a knock on the door frame that caused both Annie and Helene to look up. On the other side of the door was a boy with dark hair and dark eyes who wore dark pants and a baggy white shirt. He looked like a Byronic poet, except in sneakers.

"Oh," he said when he saw her. "Sorry about that, Mom. I just wanted to talk to you, but I see you're busy. It can wait."

"Don't be silly, William," Helene told her son. "You can come in and talk now. We see each other so little that when we can, we need to take the time."

The boy came in and stood beside Annie, helping her with the sheet. "Hi," he said. "I'm William. Are you moving in?"

"Yeah," Annie replied. "I'm Annie. I just found out that Malachai was my birth father a few days ago. Did you come from the sperm bank too?"

"Nope," William shook his head. "My parents are my parents."

"Lucky for you," Annie said and gave him a rare smile. "That must be nice."

"But he _is_ another half-sibling for you," Helene told her.

"Well," Annie told her, "I seem to be getting a lot of those all of a sudden."

"What was it that you needed to say to me?" Helene asked her son.

"I just wanted an excuse to come in here and see who came over without seeming creepy," William admitted.

"Ah," Helene nodded. "All right."

"Why do you think it would be creepy?" Annie asked. "You seem nice. And you live here so you should be able to go wherever you want."

"Well, I scare people sometimes," William told her. "I…I have this thing with my magic where whenever I get emotionally overwrought, fire comes out of my body, and I can't always control it. But it's a lot better than it used to be ever since my grandfather started teaching me how."

"Just so you know, it takes a lot more than _possibly_ being able to shoot fires to scare me," Annie assured him. "I've lived on the street and seen things that were a lot scarier."

"I'm sorry you had to," William told her."

"Thanks, but you don't have to be," She told him as Helene plumped the pillow. "It's not your fault, and it's not a problem now, is it?"

"No," William shook his head. "I guess it's not. Now that you've seen the bedroom, you want me to take you on a tour of the rest of the house?"

"Sure," Annie nodded and took his hand, something not many people had been brave enough to do. "Let's go."

* * *

Elijah woke up the next morning and felt a very unusual sensation. Usually when he opened his eyes, Selina was awake already and smiling at him. But now she didn't have her head on the pillow and it felt like someone was sucking on his finger. He tried to sit up a little and did indeed see that his wife had hold of his hand and was leisurely sucking on his finger.

"What are you doing, darling?" He asked her.

She paused and put his hand down. "I was just…I was just eating a little. That's all."

He didn't see it for long before it disappeared, but there was a small trickle of blood coming from a cut on his finger. "Were you drinking my blood?" He asked.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I was hungry. I told you that." She lay down. "What's the matter? Is that a problem?"

"If you're hungry, I want you to get a blood bag, all right?" Elijah told her firmly.

"Why?" Selina asked. "You're _so_ much closer and you said that you needed me to drink more blood in case your sister attacks me again."

"True, but if you think that having blood from Klaus or me will make you behave more erratically, you need to have it sparingly," Elijah tried to explain. "No matter how good it might taste."

"Oh, all right," Selina sighed and rolled her eyes. "I guess I can do that." She got out of bed and put a robe on, then she headed to the kitchen and grabbed a blood bag from her special cooler. When Elijah appeared a few minutes later, he noticed that her face was twisted into a grimace as he drank from the bag.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"This is just…it's gross," she said, closing the bag and putting it back before turning to him and stroking his neck gently, her lips very close to his skin. "Are you _sure_ I can't have more of yours?"

"No," Elijah told her firmly and moved her hand before taking her in his arms. "I know it's going to be a hard thing for you to remember because you have an addictive personality, but it really will be best for you to stick with the blood bags."

"What if I _can't_ remember that?" Selina asked. "Will you help me?"

"Of course I will," Elijah assured her. "You don't even have to ask.

"What are we talking about?" Stephanie asked as she came into the kitchen.

"Your mother is having some issues with her blood consumption," Elijah explained. "This situation with your Aunt Freya is making her start to have the dangerous feeding habits I've worked so hard to curb over the years."

"I'm sorry," Stephanie replied and hugged her mother. "You wouldn't let me go overboard and I won't let you either."

"Thank you," Selina said, her head beginning to clear as she stood sandwiched in between her husband and daughter. "That…that really helps a lot."


	31. Making A Big Mistake

The door to his study opened and John, who had his chair facing away from it, sat up straight. "What's kept you, Freya? I don't like to be made to wait."

"And you'll still be waiting," said a voice that made him get up out of the chair and stride toward the door. "She's still not back yet, lover. I'd worry about her if I were you."

"And l shouldn't with you?" He asked as Edele smirked at him, after kicking off her heels. Her blue eyes sparkled and she'd clearly enjoyed telling him about Freya. "Just where have _you_ been?"

"That's none of your business," Edele told him. "If you can't keep track of your child mistresses, there's no way I'm giving you insight into _my_ activities, especially since you and I both know you don't really care. But I would worry about that girl if I were you. She could be betraying you this very minute."

The door opened again and Edele quickly disappeared as Freya strode into the room. She barely got out the word 'Hello' before John grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. "Where have you been?" He asked, his eyes wide and his teeth bared.

Freya saw the look in his eyes, the one of uncertainty and even (she would go so far as to say) fear, and decided to take advantage of it. "You shouldn't worry," she said, running her finger down his cheek. "Just trust me."

"Like hell I will," he whispered, pulling her close against his body and kissing her hard before pushing her away and giving her a spank. "Go to your room," he ordered. "I'll come and see you later."

"Sure," Freya grinned and headed to the door. "Whatever you say, John. Whatever you say."

* * *

He tried to bat away the fears that Edele had tried to plant in his mind about Freya possibly betraying him, but no matter what he did, reading, eating, killing…it didn't completely occupy his mind. When she came to bed and remarked on his distracted state, he frowned at her.

"It's your fault," he growled and paced naked around the room while she watched. "Why did you make me fall for you? I was fine before you came into my life. I've never let a woman have the upper hand with me. _Never._ Having mistresses over the years was enough. I could have what I needed from them without giving any sort of commitment in return. It was _wonderful_!"

"How is that supposed to make me feel?" Freya asked. "Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you? Or to make me like you more? Cause it's not working!"

"Silence!" He ordered. "I don't care if you like me or not. That doesn't matter. Your purpose is to bear me a son. That's it." He shook his head. "I know that you're cheating me," he told her. "If I didn't need you so much, I would kill you right now. So be grateful that your womb is worth something cause it's the only thing keeping you alive."

"Well, I hate to break it to you," she told him. "But don't you think that if I was gonna get pregnant, it would have happened by now? And for heaven's sake! I don't care what's keeping me alive. I'm not just an incubator for your wonder child."

John paused and strode back to the bed, climbing beside her. "Are you telling me that you refuse to do as I ask? Or that you're barren?" He asked. "Because if you are, I'll just slit your throat and end this between us right now."

Freya gave a little chuckle that turned into a strangled noise of fear when she saw him zap up a knife and remark on its sharpness. "It will be quick," he told her and placed the flat side against her throat. "I promise."

"You can do that all you want," she whispered. "It's not going to kill me. I'm just gonna bleed a lot all over your blankets and then heal right up again."

"You are?" John groaned and rolled his eyes. "Of course you are. Damn my sister for creating something so indestructible."

"I think I could say the same thing about you," Freya shot back.

John scoffed and pushed her hair out of her eyes, staring down at the proud young woman who glared back at him. As much as he didn't want to admit it (and never would out loud) he supposed that he did feel _something_ for the beautiful blonde Original. "We won't talk anymore," he said firmly as he took her face in his hands and kissed her then proceeded to make love to her in an unusually gentle manner.

"Are you making sure that I have a few nice last moments before you kill me for not getting pregnant quick enough?" She asked, picking up the knife from John's pillow after he'd rolled off her.

"No," he said and took her in his arms. He took the knife and made a shallow cut on her neck, then licked up the blood before saying, "I was just angry about Edele showing up. I didn't mean what I said. We have all the time in the world to make our child. It will happen when it happens. I'm not going to let you go until then."

* * *

"How are we feeling?" Elijah asked as Selina came into the kitchen about an hour or so after he'd woken up. "Better? I noticed that you didn't try and feed from me this morning."

"Well, like you say, it's not good for me and I should use blood bags instead," Selina told him and picked a coffee cup from the cupboard. She seemed to be holding herself in a rigid way. "You were right." She then let out a groan of frustration. She was standing on her tiptoes and still couldn't reach the cup she wanted. "Help me," she said. "My cup's too far away! I want the one with the puppies on it."

"Here," Elijah said and came to stand over her, grabbing the cup and handing it to her before kissing her hair. "There you go."

He watched her pour herself some coffee. She seemed better, but something besides her posture was a bit suspicious, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Despite the feelings in his gut, they had a nice family breakfast with the twins and made it to school on time.

The trouble began after Elijah left Selina in her classroom. When she was sure he was gone, she sped over to the foreign language wing, pleased to see that Vivi was alone in her room. "Hello," she said after knocking on the door and getting her attention.

"Hello," Vivi remarked with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I just thought we could have a talk," Selina said to her. "We don't know each other very well, do we?"

"Not since Uncle Elijah has issues with you being near my father, no," Vivi shook her head. They spoke for a little bit and then, suddenly, Vivi was on the floor and Selina was snapping, her mouth just inches away from her bare neck.

"Why are you doing this?" Vivi breathed.

"You have your father's blood," Selina hissed. "I can't have Elijah's, so I have to have your father's. Hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

"Perhaps not," Vivi told her, and then punched Selina in the nose. "But that doesn't mean I have to stay right where I am!" She then zapped a brain pain spell on the vampire, and while that kept a very determined Selina down for a few minutes, they soon were punching and kicking with Selina making it through against Vivi on pure desperation and hunger alone.

They were so involved in their fight that they didn't notice Vivi's students standing in the doorway and watching them in horror. Then, a few of the kids turned on their heels and ran, one heading to Alistair's classroom, the other two to Elijah's, to tell them what was going on in the hopes that they'd be able to break it up before the whole classroom was destroyed.

When they heard what was going on, Alistair and Elijah ran to Vivi's room without hesitation and Elijah grabbed his wife while Alistair shot her with a dose of a mix of both vervain and wolfsbane to calm her down. Then he looked at Vivi who had collapsed in her desk chair and was taking deep breaths. "Are you all right, Vivian?" He asked her.

"Yeah," Vivi nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell is wrong with her, though? She's never been crazy like that before."

"Yes, she has," Alistair nodded. "But it was a long time ago. Just ask your father."

"Speaking of…you won't tell your father about this, will you?" Elijah implored of his redheaded niece, while at the same time wondering just how much blood Selina had consumed that morning to make her act this way. "We're trying to figure out a blood dosage for her so that she'll have a better chance of staying on her feet if she's attacked again and we're just not there yet."

"Well, I won't say anything because I think I was the one who came out less harmed," Vivi told him. "But I can't guarantee that Daddy won't find out anyway."

"Thank you," Elijah told her as he picked up his semi-conscious wife so he could take her to the car and drive her home. "Thank you very much, Vivian. I appreciate it."

* * *

Based on what had happened, after a talk with the administration, it was agreed that Selina would take a few days off to get back on the ball and Elijah would look after her. He then took her to their bedroom and Alistair appeared with one more potion to help her sleep. "It might be a little while before all the blood she drank works its way out of her system, but she should be back to normal soon," he assured Elijah.

"Thank you," Elijah told him. "I can't help but think that some of this is my fault. If I'd monitored her better, if I hadn't suggested giving her my blood in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"Now don't you do that," Alistair told him firmly. "You meant well. And if we don't want to see her in the hospital again, it _will_ take trial and error to figure out the right blood combination and amount she can consume to be as safe as possible. Slip ups like this _will_ happen and it's just something you have to tell yourself. Cause if you just sit there and stew in blame, you'll drive yourself crazy and then what help will you be to her?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"Would you like me to stay with you?" Alistair offered. "I'm sure none of my students would be too sad if I didn't come back the rest of the day."

"Thank you," Elijah nodded. "I would like that."

* * *

The suggestion turned out to be a good one when Klaus angrily stormed into the house about an hour or so later. "What the hell is going on with Selina, Elijah? Why did she attack my daughter? She's lucky Vivian wasn't badly hurt."

"Or what?" Alistair asked him. "What would you have done if she _had_ been? What she did to Vivian is no worse than what you encouraged her to do to others in the twenties, or what you yourself did to Amy. It's only because her victim is your daughter this time that you find her behavior less than endearing for once."

Klaus just glowered at him for a moment and then turned on his heel and strode down the hallway in the direction of the bedrooms.

There being no doubt in their minds what he was going to the bedrooms for, Alistair and Elijah quickly ran after him and when they reached the bedroom where Selina lay, they found him with his hands around Selina's throat, shaking her. She was awake and trying to push him away.

"Don't you ever touch my daughter again, do you hear me?" He hissed, bearing his teeth at her. "You come near her again and I'll kill you!"

"Klaus, stop!" Elijah ordered and pulled his brother off his wife as Selina coughed and massaged her throat.

"What's he talking about?" She asked, looking at her husband, alarm in her eyes.

"You sneaked a lot of blood this morning before we left for school, didn't you?" Elijah asked her.

"Yeah," she admitted. "Before I came into the kitchen, I might have had…I might have had quite a bit. I thought that since it wasn't yours, it wouldn't matter. But obviously it did."

"You attacked Vivian," Elijah explained. "You tried to bite her. Do you remember that?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I-I don't. Is Vivi okay?"

"Yes," Elijah assured her. "Vivian is fine. You came out of it much worse than she did."

"Was I fired after people found out what I did?" Selina asked. "If I am, I wouldn't blame them."

"You're not, but after we talked it over, they decided to give you a few days to recover under my supervision," Elijah replied.

"That's probably best," Selina sighed. Then she looked at Klaus. "I really _am_ sorry about Vivi," she told him. "Will you make sure she knows that?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me that you remember _nothing_ about your attack on my daughter? Well, that's certainly convenient for you, isn't it?"

"You know what's also convenient?" Selina shot back. "The fact that, as has been pointed out before, you know fucking all of this and are only yelling at me about it now! Yes, I fucked up, okay? I fucked up and I'm sorry! Can't you just accept it and move on?"

"If one of _our_ children was attacked, you'd want me to hunt down the attacker and make them pay, wouldn't you?" Klaus yelled. "Why should I act any differently for my children with Amy?"

"Fine," Selina said, her lips a thin line as she threw up her hands. "If you're so intent on seeing me dead, you can just team up with Mikael and Freya, pin me down, and slit my throat together. Who knows? He might even start to like you after that."

"Get out, Niklaus," Elijah told his brother in a cold voice. "Get away from my wife and get out of my house. You've gotten all the explanations and apologies you're entitled to and I won't have you harassing my wife anymore."

"Fine," Klaus told him. "I'll leave for now. But if this happens again, I'll be back and she'll be dead faster than you can blink."

He strode out and Elijah came to hug Selina again. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Your brother really blows hot and cold, doesn't he?" Selina remarked. "One minute he's defending me with his life against Freya and now he wants to kill me for barely hurting Vivi at all. Don't get me wrong: I completely understand why, but really…it's a bit rich of him to scold me for the same things he used to find thrilling and endearing, isn't it? Just like we said. Do you think I should start sleeping with one eye open now?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "I don't think that will be necessary."

"Of course it won't," Alistair agreed. "Amy and Vivi will get him to calm down and as long as nothing else bad happens to Vivi or any of the others that can be traced to you, I'm sure he'll soon like you as much as he always did."

"I hope so," Selina replied. "I've never liked being blamed for things that I didn't purposefully do."

"No one does," Elijah told her. Do you want to eat something now? Or do you want to try and get some more sleep?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Eating is good. I don't think I'll be able to sleep now without visions of your brother looking angry and strangling me dancing behind my eyes."

"All right," Elijah told her. "Let's begin the healing process then. And I hope this whole experience has taught you thing or two about why I ration your blood. Has it?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "It really has. I swear."


	32. Don't Put Lissy In The Corner

Vivi was surprised when she came into her classroom one day and found a basket of cookies on her desk along with a note.

 _I'm back at school today and I just thought I would leave you these as another gesture of apology for what I did. Your mother told me that you like peanut butter. You don't have to eat them, of course, and I'll understand if you never want to talk to me again, but I hope we can continue to get to know each other despite what happened._

 _Selina_

Smiling, Vivi opened the basket and took out a cookie, biting into it and closing her eyes to savor the flavor. After swallowing, she ran down to Selina's room to say 'Thank you'.

"Glad you liked them," Selina told her. "I hoped you would. But I have to say that I'm very surprised that you still want to be anywhere near me."

"Well, it just shows we have a lot to learn about each other then, doesn't it?" Vivi asked with a smile. "I'm glad you're better."

"Me too," Selina agreed. "At least for the moment, anyway. There'll probably be more relapses in my future until we find an amount of blood that will at least keep me reasonably safe from being attacked _and_ make it so I don't turn into Mrs. Hyde again."

"You can do it," Vivi encouraged. "Have you talked to my mom about this at all?"

"I suppose we could," Selina told her. "But that would mean being in the presence of your father and I don't think he wants to see me much anymore."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Vivi waved that particular concern away. "Mom and I will get him to buck up. I promise."

"Thank you," Selina told her. "I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy the cookies."

"I will," Vivi assured her as she headed to the door. "No doubt about that."

Once Vivi was gone, Selina busied herself with last minute preparations, pausing when she heard a knock on the door. She turned around and saw Elijah standing in the doorway.

"I saw Vivi coming away from here," he said as he came toward her. "What was she in here for? Nothing bad, I hope?"

"Oh, no," Selina shook her head. "She was just thanking me for the cookies I made her. She also suggested we talk to Amy about my blood issues and promised me that she and her mother would get Klaus to ease up on me."

"Well, if anyone can do it, they can," Elijah told her. "I wish them the best of luck. Now, are you sure you're going to be all right? Plans have been made for you to have the option of only teaching half the day if you need to for at least the first week."

"We'll see," Selina replied. "But as of right now, I'm feeling really good."

"All right," Elijah nodded and kissed her. "Good luck. What sort of leftovers will I be partaking in at lunch today?"

Selina smiled and gestured for him to come closer, then pulled a strange looking contraption out of the cupboard under the sink.

"And just what in the world is that?" Elijah asked, looking at the wooden bucket shaped object with a crank on the side. "What sort of food can you make with it?"

"Ice cream!" Selina replied brightly. "I was thinking we could do that today, after I tell the kids the story of how ice cream wasn't a mainstream thing until I was about seven years old." She chuckled. "They'll probably be horrified by how deprived I was."

"Oh, you were _not_ deprived," Elijah replied. "Your parents were rich, so despite the fact that ice cream ingredients were expensive for a long time, you could have gotten your hands on some."

"I know that, but it kind of wrecks my whole image of being one of the people, you know?" Selina asked.

"Ah," Elijah nodded. "All right, then. I'll let you stick to your story and not say a word then. What flavor are you making?"

"Vanilla for the class," Selina told him. "But I'll make a batch of strawberry for you. Don't worry."

"Well, thank you," Elijah smiled. "That's very sweet."

"Yeah," Selina chuckled. "You better believe it will be."

He then looked at the clock and sighed. "I should probably be getting back to my classroom now and readying myself for a day of telling history to children who don't really care."

"Remember what we said about telling personal stories instead of just lecturing?" Selina reminded him, "Take the topic and then ask the kids if they have questions without lecturing. Say, 'I lived through that time. What experiences would you like to hear about?' And go from there. It'll be a much more exciting day."

"I'll try that," Elijah promised her. "Thanks!"

He left and she was met with one more visitor with whom she had pretty much the same conversation.

"So glad you felt well enough to come back," Amelia said and took a seat at Selina's desk. "From what your father and Lucy have told me, I was worried."

"I'm sorry about that, and I probably should have come to visit you, but I wasn't sure of how good of an idea that would be while I was at my worst, you know?" Selina told her.

"Yeah, I understand," Amelia nodded. "I know why you didn't. But I hope we'll see you again soon."

"You will," Selina told her. "I promise. And next time I have a relapse (cause I will until we find the right blood amount for me to ingest in order to be a capable fighter) I will come and visit you more, I swear."

"Good, thank you. Ice cream today?" Amelia asked when she noticed the machine. "What a good idea. It's been a while since I've seen it be made with a machine that looks so old, though." She smiled, nostalgia filling her mind. "I remember your third birthday. You told me you wanted ice cream, and when I told you that it was being made for you, you were so happy. You woke up early and went down to the kitchens to watch it be made and even said you wanted to help. Mother didn't approve of course, and I got a talking to for letting you mingle too much with the slaves and the servants." She sighed. "That always happened: whenever I would try and do something good for you, I would get scolded. I guess after a while, I gave up because it was just easier."

"Things sucked for both of us, I guess," Selina told her. "But we don't have to think about that anymore. That's the best part. How's Uncle Andrew and the boxing going?"

" _Much_ better!" Amelia smiled. "I haven't punched him in the nose or given him a black eye in a week! And I almost overpowered him yesterday!"

"That is so awesome!" Selina told her. "I'm really proud of you! Maybe next you can ask Daddy to teach you how to use a gun!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Amelia told her. "I don't think it's necessary for me to learn how to shoot. I have to let your uncle help me with _something,_ don't I?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I guess you have a point. I forget that I have to think the same way with Elijah sometimes."

"But I'm just so pleased that you found him," Amelia told her. "I know he's the sort of man that you despised all your life because I would have wanted him for you, but it seems to have worked out well between the two of you."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I rubbed off on him a little, he rubbed off on me. It worked."

The students began coming in then so Amelia told Selina 'Goodbye' and quickly excused herself so she could run to her own room, although she figured that if she was a little late, the students certainly wouldn't complain.

* * *

"Come on, Daddy," Vivi pleaded with Klaus. His house was the place she'd gone to after school ever since Selina's attack because it was taking the combined efforts of both her and her mother to get him to forgive his former wife again, and he still hadn't budged much. "You have to forgive her now. I wasn't hurt and she even gave me apology cookies. If I can forgive her, and I was the one who was victimized, _you_ should certainly be able to forgive her."

"Well, I don't know," Klaus said without looking up. "You have the same kind spirit as your mother and that makes you both a bit naive about when to forgive people…or even if you should."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Amy called from the nearby kitchen. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you mad at me for forgiving you after what you did? Do you wish that Vivi and I were still in Europe?"

"Yes," Klaus told her firmly as she came back into the room. "Part of me kind of does."

"There's a way to solve this," Amy told him. "An easy one." She went and called Lucien to ask for his opinion and he said that he would come over and give it because he wanted to see Klaus' face when he said it.

"Why did you have to get him involved?" Klaus huffed. "This isn't his affair!"

"Well, you're being stubborn and if anyone can goad you into doing things, it's him," Amy said firmly.

Klaus frowned and sat down on the couch, waiting for the sound of Lucien's stupid voice as he came through the door.

"Honey, I'm home!" Lucien called soon after. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"I need him to do something for me, but he's being too stubborn," Amy said. "Would you go poke the bear?"

"I would, gorgeous," Lucien assured her. "But first I need to know what I'm trying to get him to do."

"She wants me to forgive someone and I don't want to," Klaus told him. "At least not yet."

"Oh?" Lucien raised an eyebrow and came to sit next to him on the couch. "Who is it?"

"Lonely Heart," Klaus said. "She attacked Vivi and I'm mad at her."

Lucien then turned to look at Vivi and said, "I don't know why you're so mad. She looks perfectly beautiful to me. Not like she's incurred any long lasting damage."

"See, that is exactly what we're trying to tell him, but it's not working," Vivi said.

"Well, have you noticed that sometimes Klausy here just likes to be angry and sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how much you try and reason with him, it won't change until he decides it's time?" Lucien asked. "Don't waste your breath anymore. It'll just make you crazy."

"Are you sure?" Vivi asked, not relishing being around the grumpy version of her father for who knew how long. She was already having to deal with that at home because of Mikael trying to drag King into the whole mess, which made _King_ ill-tempered too. But that was nothing new; being around his father had _always_ put her husband in a grumpy frame of mind.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to say," Lucien replied. Then he turned back to Klaus. "I know what might cheer you up. Why don't you try giving Felicity a call? She's been trying to call everyone for days just to talk and you've all been so busy you haven't said a word to her. She's beginning to get upset. And do you know how I feel when Felicity is upset?"

"How?" Amy asked. "How do you feel?"

"Like I want to kill everyone!" Lucien's hands balled into fists and a dark look came over his face. "Not that she'd ever tell me details because she just wants to keep things casual between us, but something's happened to her, hasn't it? That makes her feel really bad about being left out of things? Can't you come up with something for her to do regarding this Phoenix thing? Her life is in danger too, just like the rest of ours. Shouldn't she be involved in the fight?"

Amy and Klaus looked at one another in surprise. They'd all been so busy rounding up the troops that it hadn't occurred to them to call Felicity because unlike her sister and brother, she had neither a position with the Council that would bring her close to the action, or the powers to be truly helpful.

"We meant to call her," Amy said quickly. "It's just that…without powers, we don't know how helpful she could be."

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Lucien spat. "Does Klausy have powers? Does Elijah? No! But they're allowed to help. So you better find something for Lissy to do or blood will rain down!"

"All right, all right," Amy promised. "We will find something for her to do. I promise."

"Good," he said, a smile curving his lips. "That's all I want. Thank you."

* * *

When he got back to his and Lissy's house after making a couple more visits to recite the same speech, he expected to be greeted warmly and thanked for his efforts on Felicity's behalf, but instead, Klaus' spitfire blonde granddaughter approached him with an angry look in her eyes. "What the hell did you do and why did you do it?" She demanded.

"You have to be more specific," Lucien told her. "What horrible thing am I supposed to have done now?"

"I got calls from Daddy, Mom, and Grandpa saying that you'd threatened to kill them all if they didn't talk to me!" She reminded him, hands on hips. "Why did you do that?"

"Cause I thought that's what you wanted!" Lucien told her. "Call me crazy, but I didn't think you wanted to be crying every night when the reason for it could be so easily fixed!"

"Yes, but I'm not a child!" Felicity shouted. "I don't need some he-man jumping in and doing everything for me when I've done a perfectly adequate job managing things myself all my life."

"Fine," Lucien stepped back, his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I promise never to help you with anything ever again and will think of you as nothing but the woman I have sex with."

"Good," Felicity replied and threw his arms around him. "Speaking of, let's get to it, shall we?"

"All right," Lucien nodded. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder to take her back to their room, but oddly enough, for the first time, he heard a very soft voice in the back of his mind that said just maybe this arrangement wasn't working for him as well as it used to.


	33. Real Loyalty

"I'm sorry!" Selina just said automatically when she opened the door to a knock and saw Vivi's husband King, who was Mikael's son with his wife Gwen. "I didn't mean to hurt her, I swear! I didn't even know it was happening!"

"I know!" King assured her quickly. "I know. I didn't come to yell at you. I just came to see if you were okay. I know that Vivi came out of it much better than you did."

"Well, thank you," Selina said, stepping back and gesturing for him to come inside and sit down. "Why don't we talk? You seem calm about what happened. It would surprise most people."

"Yeah, but I remember one time when I was a kid and you babysat me, I suggested we have a blood drinking contest to see who could consume more and you told me that you couldn't do that cause having too much made you crazy," King said. "I'm very aware of what happened."

"Ah, well good!" Selina said. "So how have you been? We haven't talked much."

"Good," King nodded. "Good. Dad's been talking with Freya a lot lately. I don't know what that means, but maybe it's something Elijah should know."

"Maybe it is," Selina agreed. "Thanks, I'll be sure to tell him."

"You're welcome," King replied.

They sat in silence and then Selina asked, "What's your father talking about with Freya? Probably that he's proud of her for knocking me out." She scoffed. "That's just something he would do."

King just shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could tell you more about that, but I don't know. I tried asking once when I saw him leading her back to her car one day, but he told me to mind my own business and that it was something just between him and her." He paused. "But that's fine with me. If he wants to be betrayed and destroyed because he put faith in the wrong kid, that's not my problem." He then looked down at his lap while running his fingers through his hair.

"Are you all right?" Selina asked, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "You want to talk about it?"

"No, I think it's really obvious that I failed him somewhere down the line so he's throwing it in my face by talking to his other children who are more with the program," King cried as he paced around the room. "It's not my fault that I fell in love with Vivi, all right? I don't see why he's mad at me for that."

"I would say that you should talk to your father about your concerns, but we all know how that would turn out," Selina sighed.

"What did it take for you to finally get your mom's attention after she ignored you all those years because you didn't act the way she wanted you to?" King asked. "If I knew, maybe it would help me."

"I really wish I could tell you something that would work," Selina replied. "But things changed between my mom and I because she realized she screwed up and apologized, and so did I. But I really don't see that happening with your dad at all, unless your mom put some sort of spell on him to make him do so."

"I wonder if she would do that," King remarked. "I might just ask her."

Selina chuckled. "Good luck," she told him. "And please tell me what she says. I'm begging you."

"All right," King smiled. "You'll know, I promise."

* * *

"No, I will _not_ put a spell on your father to make him be nicer to you and forget all about his talking with Freya!" Gwen told her son when he put the idea out. "If I had it in my head to do that, I would have done it a long time ago. I know things are difficult between you and him, but forcing a better relationship with a spell is no good."

"I'm not proposing this just for my benefit," King told his mother. "Dad is talking with a woman who could jeopardize everything for everyone! She could make Dad make a terrible mistake! We have to stop him. He listens to you, right?"

"No, he doesn't listen to me," Gwen corrected her son. "He gives me more time to tell him things than most people before he shoots them down. That's different. And I'm sure that you're worrying about your dad for nothing. He wouldn't be foolish enough to just blindly betray us because his daughter is on the other side." She lowered her voice. "He's a double agent, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," King replied. "But I'm still nervous all the same."

"If it'll put your mind at ease, I'll have a talk with him tonight," Gwen promised her son. "Would that help?"

"Maybe," King nodded. "It's a start at least. Thanks."

* * *

"We have to talk," Gwen said to Mikael when they were both in bed that night.

"Oh, no," Mikael huffed. "Nothing about feelings, Gwendolyn. You know how I feel about those kinds of talks."

"Yes, I'm well aware," Gwen told him. "It took you forever to finally stop talking about how much you never wanted us to talk about our feelings. No, this is about you and Freya. King thinks that you're being imprudent by seeing her so much."

"Is this a bid for attention on his part?" Mikael asked. "Is he begging you to get me to spend time with him?"

"Well, no," Gwen shook her head. "But even if he was, I don't think it would hurt you to listen. Why don't you pay more attention to him? If it's because of Vivian, it's very heartless of you. You pay attention to Elijah even though you're not particularly fond of _his_ wife. King should be no different." She paused. "Actually, his concern was that Freya would make you so sentimental that you'd betray us and side with her. Don't do that; there's too much at stake here."

"I wouldn't," he said in a surprisingly gentle voice before he kissed her. "Yes, Freya is my daughter, and yes, I've loved her dearly for the longest time, but she's chosen to go against me and do something that will cause her family to die. I've lost her loyalty, and she's lost mine. You haven't, Gwendolyn. And you never will."

"Do you promise?" Gwen asked.

"Yes," Mikael said firmly. Then he grabbed a cup and cut his arm, dripping a good amount of blood into it and then doing the same with Gwen, then shook the cup as if he were aerating wine. Once their blood was mixed, he took a sip and then handed it to her. "This symbolizes my promise to you," he told her. "I won't go back on it."

"You better not," Gwen said and took the cup to drink from it. "Not just for my sake, but for everyone else's too, even those you don't like."

"Oh, all right," Mikael replied, his eyes narrowing as he thought of Klaus and Selina. "Even those I don't like." He then kissed her and waited for her to finish the blood before they both fell asleep.

* * *

"So your sister went crazy and nearly killed someone because she drank too much blood," Davina gave a small smile. "What do you think would happen with you in the same situation, Thomas? Have you ever thought about it?"

"No," Thomas shook his head and moved closer to her on her bed. "I don't _need_ to think about it. I've experienced it first hand and it's nothing I want to go through again."

"Was it like a murder spree?" Davina asked, rubbing her hands. "Come on, tell me! I want details!"

"But why?" Thomas asked. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Because!" Davina told him. "I need to know that you've had lots of horrible life experiences so I can feel better about the stuff that got me put in the asylum."

"Oh," Thomas blushed a little. "I'm sorry. I've never asked you about that. What happened? You tell me your story and then I'll tell you mine."

"Fine, but you have to promise not to judge, all right?" Davina requested. "Cause it's a little crazy."

"I won't," Thomas told her. "I promise."

Davina took a breath and grabbed Thomas' hand before shutting her eyes. "I blew up the house," she got out.

"What?" Thomas asked.

"I blew up the house," Davina repeated. "I was about four years old. I had a temper tantrum when I had to eat vegetables that I didn't want and I cried so much and was so angry that the house just kinda…blew up."

"My god," Thomas got out. "Were you hurt?"

"I wasn't," Davina shook her head. "But my parents were. I got sent to live with an aunt and uncle while they were in the hospital and after Daddy died and Mom got out…that's when she sent me to the asylum." Davina gave a long sigh and squeezed Thomas' hand. "I don't blame her. She probably didn't want to die."

"But that's still hardly an excuse to send someone to an asylum," Thomas replied. "You wouldn't have gotten good care there!"

"She was probably just hoping they would kill me or something," Davina shrugged. She then kept her eye on him. "What about you?"

"You were four years old!" Thomas whispered, his voice shaking. "How could your mother treat you so callously when you were _four years old?_ It hardly bears thinking of!" He was shaking now.

"Thomas, it's okay! It doesn't matter anymore!" Davina cried and tried to calm him down. "I got through it. I've decided to forgive my mother!"

Thomas' eyes narrowed as he picked her up and carried her to his car. "Where does your mother live?" He asked sharply. "I want to have a talk with her!"

"Don't kill my mother," Davina pleaded from the backseat as the car began to move. "Please don't kill her!"

"All right," Thomas promised as he gripped the steering wheel tight. "I won't, but I still want to see her. Please tell me where she lives."

Knowing that she had no other choice, Davina gave Thomas the last known address she had for her mother and hoped she still lived there.

* * *

When they reached the house and Thomas knocked on the door, the dark-haired woman who answered looked at Davina with fear.

"Hello, Mom," Davina said quietly. "Can I…can I come in?"

"No," her mother replied. "When I put you in the asylum, I told you never to come back here!" She was about to close the door when Thomas stuck his foot out. "I don't think you want to do that," he told her, his eyes locked on hers. "I think you owe your daughter a talk, don't you?"

"Yes," the woman replied. "Come in."

They walked inside and sat down at the table. "All right," the older woman got out. "What is it that you want from me? Whatever it is, just take it and don't kill me like you killed your father!"

Davina took Thomas' hand and said, "I just want you to know how much it hurt me that you sent me away. I-I love you very much, and I'm very sorry for what happened to Daddy, but I still think you were wrong to treat me the way that you did."

"Well, what did you expect me to do with you?" Her mother asked. "I was a human woman with human friends raising a daughter who had magic! I didn't know how to help you and I just…I didn't know what to do!" She then stood up, her face hardening. "If that's all you came to say, you've said it and I'd like to you go now."

Davina turned to face Thomas. "Would you tell me about the bad things you did now? Or show me? This is me giving you permission. I won't be mad at you."

"With pleasure," Thomas nodded and advanced on the older woman, pinning her to the ground, biting her throat deeply and feeding off her while Davina watched, pleased to feel like he was finally avenging a girl who had been treated so badly.

* * *

"Lissy," Klaus exclaimed when he opened the door and let his wayward granddaughter in. "I'm sorry we haven't told you much about what's going on lately. I'm glad you stopped by, though."

"I'm sorry Lucien called you and made you feel like you _had_ to talk to me," Felicity replied. "I want people to talk to me because they _want_ to, not because they're forced to. And I suppose that I should make some effort to talk to the family too, instead of just waiting for them to come talk to me."

"How are things going with you and Lucien?" Klaus asked. "Is he treating you badly?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. "He's actually really tolerable now that I've gotten used to him. I mean, I still don't know how we're gonna have a real relationship because I have this terrible feeling that if I share anything with him, he'll just laugh at me, but…I suppose I could give it a shot, couldn't I? I'll tell him a little bit at a time and see how he reacts, and I'll start tonight." She sighed. "This will lift such a weight off my chest."

"Yes," Klaus nodded and gave her a hug. "I know it will."

* * *

"If I tell you why I have so many issues with my family, will you laugh at me?" Felicity asked Lucien when she returned home and found him watching TV.

"No," he rubbed his hands as a smile curved his lips. "I love a good story."

"Well, it's not a good story," Felicity corrected as she sat down next to him. "It's a very terrible story!"

"I figured as much," Lucien told her. "People don't sob that much when they think about happy things."

"I won't burden you with too much to start, but…being left out of things is nothing new for me, like I said," Felicity told him after taking a deep breath. "Truth is, I shouldn't even exist. I was conceived on accident, and my parents had very different opinions on what to do with me, so I ended up being shipped off to Grandpa's while Mom and Dad fought for twenty years about how much Mom sucked for keeping the pregnancy in the first place. I mean, it's a simplified version of the story, but I figure you wouldn't want too many details."

"No," Lucien shook his head. "No, that's enough. And that's just the beginning?"

"Yeah," Felicity sighed and felt brave enough to rest her head on his shoulder, then gasped as he ran his fingers through her hair. "There's way too much more. But do you want me to stop?"

"No," Lucien shook his head and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Tell me everything. Not now, of course. But you need to get all that out, don't you?"

"Yeah," Felicity replied and shut her eyes. "That would be nice."


	34. A Crack In The Facade

"I'm so proud of how you got through last week," Elijah complimented Selina. "Not that I was very worried, but I didn't want you to think you needed to overwork yourself if you didn't quite feel up to it."

"It wasn't hard since I kept track of my blood consumption and didn't overdo it," she assured him. "And I just…I want to thank you for how compassionately you handled it all. It made it easier for me to get past it. I know that you tend to get concerned sometimes when I drink too much and have a freak out."

Elijah sighed and took her in his arms. "That's only when you knowingly drink too much," he told her. "When you go out and cause panic and chaos on purpose and don't exercise control. This was different. I was partly responsible for what happened, so it would have been very callous for me to scold you for what resulted, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Yes, it would have." She paused. "Oh, and Gwen called. She and your father want to talk to us about Freya. I invited them over. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Elijah grinned. "As long as you behave yourself in front of him."

"Of course I will!" Selina chuckled. "It's more fun that way. It makes your father paranoid because he always wonders what my angle is for being so nice to him." She chuckled. "Good times, good times."

* * *

"Thanks for having us over," Gwen told Selina as she pulled her reluctant husband inside after Selina opened the door and greeted them. "I thought that it was about time for Mikael to share everything Freya has told him."

They sat down and Selina asked Mikael in a very sweet tone, "Can I get you some coffee or beer or something? It wouldn't be any trouble."

"Beer is fine, thank you," Mikael got out.

Selina went in to get it for him, opened it, poured it in a glass, then stayed in the kitchen holding onto it for a few extra minutes before coming in and giving it to him. It was those few extra minutes that made everything wonderful.

"Thank you," Mikael told her, but stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"You're welcome," Selina replied and took a seat next to Elijah on the opposite sofa. "I hope you like it. It's a new kind." She then waited for him to drink it with a grin on her face as he just stared down into the cup without bringing it to his lips. "Are you all right?" She finally asked. "What's the matter? Why aren't you drinking any?"

"You put something in this, didn't you?" Mikael accused her. "That's why you spent all that extra time in the kitchen!"

"I didn't!" Selina defended herself and snatched his cup away before handing it to her husband. "Here," she said to Elijah who was looking at her with suspicion. "You drink some of this and tell your father there's nothing funny in it. He's not gonna believe _me_."

Elijah sighed and took a drink. It tasted normal, and he also knew that if she _had_ put something in it, she wouldn't have given it to him so readily. "It's fine," he told his father. "She didn't put anything in it. Will you just drink it?"

"Why should I believe you?" Mikael asked. "You're on her side now! You don't have my best interests at heart!"

It was then that Selina decided to take pity on him and end the joke. "I swear I didn't put anything in it," she told him. "The few extra minutes I spent in the kitchen involved me just holding onto the cup so you would _think_ that I put something in it when I didn't. I had no idea it would rattle you so badly. I'm very sorry."

"There," Gwen told her husband. "She told the truth and apologized for that genius bit of psychological warfare, so I think we can proceed as normal now."

"Well, all right," Mikael agreed and took his cup back. He then shut his eyes and took a gulp.

"See?" Gwen said and patted him on the back once he swallowed. "Was that so bad?"

"Can we just talk about Freya now?" Mikael asked irritably. She was making a fool of him again, this time in front of his own wife, and he hated it.

"All right," Gwen nodded. "Tell us what Freya told you. If she's told you anything in all those hours you've spent with her."

They waited for Mikael speak, but he wouldn't. Then Elijah said, "Father, can we go speak privately in my room?"

"Yes," Mikael answered almost immediately. "I would like that very much. Gwendolyn, you come too."

Elijah asked Selina to wait for him and she was left alone in the living room while Elijah, Mikael, and Gwen went to Elijah and Selina's bedroom and shut the door. "So now that we're in private," Elijah told his father, "What have you and my sister discussed?"

"She really _does_ want to side with that man and kill us all," Mikael told Elijah quietly. "She offered me a place with her so that I would live too, but…but the cost is too much. I can't betray everyone else like that. So much of the time I've spent with her has been me trying to convince her to change her mind. Seeing…seeing my little girl and knowing she wants me dead, it just…it hurts my heart."

"I figured that," Elijah said. "We'll get this all worked out, Father. Do everything we can to bring Freya back into the fold."

"Yes, we will," Mikael said resolutely and tried to keep his voice from shaking as Gwen put her arms around him.

They then went back into the living room and Selina whispered to Elijah, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Elijah replied. "Father's just distressed about Freya turning on us. Please don't tease him about it."

"Is he really and truly upset?" Selina asked in amazement because she didn't think he was capable of feeling that way about anything or anyone. "Sure, if he's genuinely upset, I won't say a thing. I won't even give any indication that you told me this. It's between all of you and none of my business."

"Thank you for understanding," Elijah told her and gave her a hug. "You're the best."

* * *

"You know, you shouldn't be smoking," William remarked when he left the house and saw Annie sitting on Malachai and Helene's front step with a cigarette between her teeth.

"Why not?" Annie asked. "Are you mad? Are you going to be catching things on fire any time soon?"

"No," William shook his head. "I was just referring to the general unhealthiness of the practice."

"Oh, all right," Annie nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." She watched him go and then coughed as the sudden ring of her phone made her inhale when she didn't mean to. "Oh, god," she sighed when she saw that it was Damon calling. "What does he want?" She answered the call and asked him just that.

"It's nice to see that you're still so happy to hear from me," he told her easily.

" _Answer_ the question," Annie told him.

"I just thought we could talk," Damon said to her. "I'm a bit lonely."

Annie scoffed at this. "And I'm the only one you could think to call? Did you run out of money to pay anyone with?"

"I'll make it worth your time," Damon promised. "I swear."

"Fine," Annie huffed. "But only because I have nothing better to do."

* * *

"All right, I'm here," she said, her green eyes flashing as she stomped through the door of Damon's house. "How am I supposed to help you spend your time?"

"I just thought we could talk," Damon told her and patted the seat on the couch next to him. "Come and sit by me."

"You know I have magic so that if you try and pull anything, I can hurt you, right?" Annie asked as she sat down.

"Yeah, fine," Damon replied easily. "It's noted."

Still not convinced, Annie zapped up a gun and pointed it at him with her finger on the trigger. "Okay, let's talk now," she said.

"What's the gun for?" Damon asked. "You wanna steal all my money or something?"

"No," Annie shook her head. "I just want you to know that I could shoot it if you try and start things with me."

"Go ahead," Damon whispered in her ear as he leaned close and pulled the gun away. "It's not gonna hurt me. Hell, it might be fun." He blew in her ear and then Annie whacked him in the gut.

"You know," she said, standing up, "suddenly, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea."

"Do you know how to shoot?" Damon asked as they made their way to the door. "It'll be even less challenging than it already is if you don't know how to shoot."

"Of course I don't know how to shoot," Annie told him. "Where the hell would I have learned?"

"I'll teach you," Damon offered. "Would you like that?"

"Maybe," Annie shrugged non-comitally. "Do you know how to teach someone? Have you ever done it?"

"Yeah," Damon assured her. "I taught our neighbor during the Civil War and she's a really good shot." He grinned. "I'll have to bring you to meet her sometime. I think you and Lina would get along really well." He then stood a few steps away from her and said, "Okay, show me what you can do already so I know what I have to work with."

Annie zapped some bullets into the gun and, although it seemed nuts at first, shot at him over and over. She didn't hit him once and when the gun was empty, he was surrounded by spent shell casings, not a nick on him. "See?" She said. "You'll have a lot to work with."

"Good," Damon smiled. "That means we'll get to see more of each other. I can't wait."

"I'm sure you can't," Annie nodded, then lagged behind him to get a good look at his butt as they walked back into the house for a drink.

* * *

"I was glad to see your mom back," Clarissa told Drew the next day. They had a common free period, so they'd met at the beginning of it and left school in a car Clarissa had zapped up to go hang out somewhere else for a little bit. "I know that's probably not what you want to spend this time talking about, but I thought I'd put it out there."

"Well, thanks," Drew replied with a smile and then gave her a kiss. "You're very sweet. To tell you the truth, I'm glad Mom's better too. It's weird when she's off the rails like that. Thank goodness it rarely happens." They were at an empty playground near the school and sitting on a couple of swings. Drew got off his and gave Clarissa several pushes before she surprised him by launching herself off the swing and landing neatly on the grass.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, running over to her, getting down on his knees beside her, and helping her to her feet. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Good," Clarissa smiled, took his hand, and then led him to a tower of tires stacked tightly one on top of the other. They sneaked inside it and sat facing one another. It was a confining space, but very private. They stared at one another for a few seconds and then, without so much as a sound of warning, Clarissa grabbed Drew and kissed him hard, her fingers threading through his dark hair.

When they pulled apart, Drew smiled and put his hands on either side of her face. "I liked that," he told her. "But you could have warned me first. I would have done a better job."

"Oh, but what fun would that be?" Clarissa asked. "I've always been a fan of the element of surprise."

"Not me," Drew shook his head and kissed her against gently. "I like knowing exactly…what…I'm…doing…before…I…do…it."

With every word, his lips blazed a path from her lips, to her chin, to down her neck where he even paused to give her a little nibble.

"Don't take too much." She whispered. "You know I have to have time to heal."

"I know," Drew assured her as he took her in his arms. "I promise I won't forget."

As he held her tight against his lithe body, she sneakily nibbled on his earlobe, which made noises come out of him that caused her to tingle. His hands began to roam over her body and only stopped when the intrusive yet peppy notes of "Walking On Sunshine" sounded in the tire tower.

"What's that?" Clarissa asked. "Make it stop!"

"It means we need to be getting back to class," Drew said reluctantly as they got back out under the sun and headed to his car. "We don't want to be late for Dad's class, do we?"

"No," Clarissa said, taking his hand. She'd recently rearranged her schedule so that she had history with Drew as well. "We sure don't. Cause he's not as easy-going as your mom, is he?"

"No," Drew shook his head as he opened the car door for her and helped her in. "Definitely not."


	35. A Mind Trick

"I'm here!" Annie eagerly ran into the house when Damon opened the door. "Where's the gun? Give me the gun! I want to use it!"

"Okay, now calm down," Damon told her quickly. "I think I need to tell you about safety before we start."

"Bullshit!" Annie told him. "You let me shoot you yesterday and there was no crap about safety! Just give me the fucking gun!"

"Fine," Damon sighed and handed the eager young woman a pistol and making sure she went ahead of him out into the yard.

"Why did you let me go first?" Annie asked. "Gentlemanly behavior?"

"That," Damon nodded. "And I was thinking that if I didn't keep an eye on you, you'd shoot me in the back and that wouldn't be so good, would it?"

"No," Annie grinned and put the gun at her side, stroking the barrel gently. "But what makes you think I would do that? Years of that same reaction from women? I can't be the first one."

Damon chose not to respond to that, but instead focused on setting up the targets and then went to get the list of rules and tips he'd written up. He held it out to her and as she reached out for it, he said, "You can read this, right?"

"Of course I can read it!" Annie nodded and snatched it away. "I can kick your ass too, in case you're wondering." She looked at the paper for a few seconds, crumpled it up, threw it down on the ground, and shot at a can that was sitting on a table a few feet away, missing it completely.

"And you missed," Damon said, coming up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist to bring her against him and then holding her hand that held the gun in it with his other so that he could guide her hand, his lips close to her ear. "This is how you do it. You were doing it wrong."

Annie shut her eyes and pretended the target was Damon's face and then aimed and pulled the trigger. She didn't get it good, but at least there was a metallic clink as the bullet brushed the side of the can and landed in the grass some feet away from the table.

"Good!" Damon said approvingly. "You hit something. What made that happen?"

"I pretended the can was your face," Annie told him smugly. "It was really helpful."

"Lots of women happen to like my face," Damon told her.

"And it doesn't bother you that they don't like anything else about you?" Annie asked. "That doesn't give you any hints to fix things?"

"I don't change for people," he told her. "I never have and I never will. That's the first thing you have to learn about me. Don't expect it."

"Oh, I wouldn't," Annie said and put the gun at her side. "As long as you don't expect it from me either."

They gave each other a long look, their faces edging closer and closer until they kissed briefly and then jumped apart and Damon told her, "Just shoot again, would you?"

"Yes," Annie nodded, aiming the gun at his butt and pulling the trigger. But lucky for him, she missed and gave him a sheepish look as he turned around to glare at her.

* * *

"I liked our little trip the other day," Clarissa told Drew. "And when we see each other and do stuff during the day. It's one of the few times I can count on being able to do something I want to do."

"Oh, it was just a trip to a playground," Drew told her as she grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I bet you've had more exciting trips than that. I'll think of something much grander to do next time."

"You mean you'll propose that we'll sneak out at night, go to the lake by my house, and swim without our clothes on?" Clarissa asked eagerly as Drew's jaw dropped. "Yeah, I can't _wait_ to do that!" She grabbed him and kissed him deeply. "What a great plan!" She then scampered off and Drew ran his fingers through his hair. What had he just gotten himself into?

* * *

Elijah looked up at the knock on his door, curious to see who was on the other side. It wasn't Selina's particular knock, so it couldn't have been her, but who else would visit him during office hours when everyone knew he preferred to be on his own for a bit after school? He opened the door and saw Drew standing on the other side, his whole body tensed. "I know you like to have the first couple of hours at home after school to yourself, but I really need to talk to you," he said as he strode in and sat in the empty chair opposite Elijah. "Do you mind?"

"No," Elijah leaned forward and shook his head. "Of course not. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, I've gotten myself into something and I'm beginning to wonder if it was a good idea," Drew replied.

"What is it?" Elijah asked. "Drugs? Alcohol? Murder?"

"No, no!" Drew told him quickly. "Nothing that bad. It's Clarissa. Part of our bonding involves me helping her have the freedom and fun that she doesn't get to have at home, but tonight…tonight she wants us to do something ridiculous."

"What?" Elijah asked. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you shouldn't do it."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Drew sighed. "She wants us to skinny dip at midnight in a lake by her house! How can I do that? How can I not?"

"Is it the thought of doing it that makes you nervous?" Elijah asked. "I would wear a bathing suit and insist it not be removed if I were you. There was this one time with me and your mother where-"

"That's okay," Drew interrupted. "I believe you. I don't need details. That's good advice, though. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Elijah nodded. "And be careful tonight. You're young and I don't want you doing anything you might regret later because of a pretty face."

"I'll try to keep that in mind, but I don't know how well I'll be able to remember it after a certain point," Drew replied.

"Yes," Elijah sighed and went to pour himself a drink. "I've been there. Good luck."

"Thanks," Drew told him. "I think I'm gonna need it."

* * *

He went to bed that night in a t-shirt and hoped that he'd be able to sleep through the night cause Clarissa forgot her naughty skinny-dipping idea or, failing that, was unable to get out of the house to get him and do it.

But right on schedule, he was shaken awake at midnight, and screeched as he saw the dark figure towering over him.

A hand was quickly clamped over his mouth as Clarissa whispered, "For god's sake, Drew! It's only me, Clarissa! Do you want to wake up the whole house?"

"No," Drew said as he tried to get a breath. "No, I don't. Have you come to collect me for our little adventure?"

"Well, duh!" Clarissa whispered. "Isn't it exciting?"

"That depends," Drew said as she pulled him out of bed and led him to the open window. "What are the chances this little stunt will get us arrested?"

"I was thinking none," Clarissa told him. "Cause if anyone tries to hassle us, you can just send them away with your vampire powers, can't you?"

"Oh, no!" Drew shook his head. "I don't want to do that! That would be unethical!"

"Are you serious?" Clarissa huffed. "Just come on and if something happens, we'll deal with it."

Drew sighed deeply and let her zap them to the lake. They then stood at the water's edge and Clarissa began undressing. Lit by the moonlight over their heads, Drew had to admit she looked beautiful. She then dove into the water and then when she resurfaced, she smiled. "Oh, come on!" She told him. "You have to do this too! It's not that cold!"

He took off his shirt, took a flying leap, and landed in the water with a loud splash.

"You could have taken your boxers off too, you know," Clarissa said as she pulled him to her. "In fact, you should have. That's what skinny-dipping is."

"You don't have to tell me that," Drew said and kissed her, only pulling away when he felt her tugging at his boxers under the water. "No, no," he told her firmly and moved her hand. "You have to wait."

"How long?" Clarissa asked. "Until we're married? You seem like that type. And it's really not fair, cause how am I supposed to wait that long?" She reached out and stroked his bare chest. "I mean _really_?"

Drew was unsure how to respond to that, and he could feel himself begin to give in to her touching, so to distract her, he just pushed her into the water.

"Hey!" She cried, popping up and spitting water in his face. "What was that for?"

"To cool you off a little," he said, one side of his lip curling. "I think you needed it."

"Not as much as you!" Clarissa replied and pushed him back. When he resurfaced, he grabbed her and pulled her close to him, his hands cupping her bottom. "I probably won't be able to make it 'til we're married," he said against her earlobe. "But I'm damn well gonna try."

"Good luck," She said, shivering a little. "I can't wait to see how much self-control you have."

"I have a lot," he promised. "I swear."

"You do, do you?" She chuckled and kissed his neck. "We'll just see about that."

* * *

"You know, I realize that it really troubled you," Gwen told Mikael the following night. "But it really _was_ genius that trick she did with the beer. Almost like something you would do!"

"No," Mikael shook his head. "That…that woman is nothing like me! There is nothing about her that I like about her! Nothing at all!"

But despite his protestations, he was still thinking about it when he lay next to Gwen in bed that night. He supposed that _maybe_ she had her moments. He'd dated her mother at one point and from what he remembered Amelia had been quite charming and delightful. Her daughter had to get it from somewhere, didn't she?

He drifted off to sleep and his first dream found himself in a wedding tux. The sound of the organ drifted throughout the church and made his way down to his heavily veiled bride. Then he pulled the veil up and saw not Gwen's face, but Selina's.

 _As he looked at her smiling face, it was like he was of two minds: one full of absolute horror as the minister gave him permission to kiss his bride cause there was no chance in hell that that would happen, and another that told him what was going on was perfectly normal and there was nothing wrong with it. He kissed her, and it wasn't a quick kiss either. When he felt her hands on his bottom, he tensed, but didn't pull away, and as they greeted guests, he began fidgeting, every instinct in him screaming for him to run._

" _What's the matter with you, Mikael?" Someone asked him._

" _Oh, he's probably just eager to get home for his wedding night," someone else answered. "And can you blame him?"_

" _I am too!" Selina assured him and gave him a tight hug._

" _Would you…would you mind letting me go for just a moment so I can get out and get some air?" Mikael asked and practically pushed her away._

" _Are you all right?" Selina asked, her voice full of concern. "Would you like me to come with you?"_

" _No, no that's fine," Mikael shook his head. "If I didn't need to take a break from you, I wouldn't be leaving."_

 _He ran out of the room and as everyone crowded around her voicing concerns, Selina assured them that he was probably just tired from the long day. They came in and sat down for the toasts and after the guests made theirs, he stood up and began speaking. "I'd like to thank you all for coming and sharing in this special day with me and the love of my life. And I would like her to know that I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her."_

 _Everyone toasted and then someone said, "Why don't you kiss her?"_

 _Mikael put his glass down and turned to look at Selina, whose lips were already puckered. And the bad feeling, the feeling that this wasn't right, washed over him again. He tried to move away but she grabbed him and kissed him long and hard and after that he had to get up and run to go spit in a trash can._

" _What's the matter with you?" She asked as they drove away from the reception hall. "I hope you're nicer to me tonight. I don't want to have bought all that new underwear for nothing."_

" _Yes," Mikael muttered as he looked out the window._

 _He left her in the room and got hammered in the hotel bar, not coming back to her until it was dark._

" _All right," he slurred as he opened the door. "Let's do this!"_

" _I can see that you're drunk," she told him. "But I guess I'm just so glad that you actually came back that it doesn't matter."_

 _She undressed and he didn't take his eyes off her, then he did the same and they were soon rolling around naked under the white silk sheets while he nipped at her neck and ran his hands over her body. He found himself yelling "Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" over and over again, then a familiar voice sounded in his head, saying his name._

" _Mikael! Mikael, wake up! Are you okay?"_

"Mikael! Mikael, are you all right?"

He opened his eyes and found himself in Gwen's arms. She was looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"Oh, thank god!" He said and hugged her. "It was just a terrible, terrible dream!" He kissed Gwen and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy you're here, Gwendolyn!"

"My god, what's going on with you?" She asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pleased by the compliments, but…what happened in your dream?"

"Selina and I were married and I…I…Oh, god, please don't make me talk about it!" He blushed bright red and then, without dressing, left the bed and ran to the kitchen for a drink.

Gwen shook her head, "Poor man," she whispered and then pulled the covers over herself and went back to sleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, Elijah woke up to find himself alone in bed, so he put his robe on and went in search of his wife. He found her in the dining room with three empty glasses in front of her. They had bits of red liquid in the bottom of them, so he was alarmed for a moment before realizing that it was tomato juice and not blood.

"Bloody Marys?" He asked her. "Why did you need so many?"

"Bad dream," she said in a monotone voice. "Bad dream, scarred for life. I will never sleep again."

"Won't you?" Elijah smiled, a grin curving his lips. "What did you dream about?"

She grabbed the lapels of his robe and cried dramatically, "I saw your father naked! We practically had sex! Why? Why would I dream such a horrible thing?!"

"It's not nice when people mess with your mind, is it?" He told her. "I know you and my father have never been on the best of terms, but that hardly entitles you do things like that trick with the beer glass for your own amusement. I hope what I did was a lesson to you."

"Oh, come on!" Selina told him. "The trick with the beer glass didn't warrant a dream where I saw your father naked in return. And by the way, how would you know that?"

"When I was human we all lived in a one room hut together," Elijah shrugged. "Very little is kept secret in a one-room hut. Now, are we going to be playing any more tricks on my father?"

"Not if it means I have to see your father naked again," Selina replied with a shudder.

"Good," Elijah said, his voice smug, and then went to answer the phone, and during the ensuing conversation, he learned that both his father and Selina, through who knew what means, had had exactly the same dream.

"I was thinking about the similarities between her and her mother before I went to sleep," Mikael mused. "You remember that Amelia and I saw each other socially for a time, don't you?"

"Yes," Elijah assured him. "I remember that."

"Well, maybe that's what made me dream such a horrible thing," Mikael continued. "I hope it doesn't happen again. Oh, and you won't tell your wife about this, will you?"

"No," Elijah promised, feeling dumbstruck. "I won't say a thing about it to Selina."

He ended the call and Selina asked, "What aren't you supposed to tell me?"

"I can't say," Elijah told her. "Except I have to wonder if maybe my mental powers are much stronger than I thought. That's all I'm going to mention on the subject. Do you want coffee? I think it might be best after all that alcohol."

"Yeah," Selina nodded and lay her head down on the table. "It might be."


	36. Ready To Roar

"Last night was really something, wasn't it?" Selina told Elijah as they both dressed to head for school. "You know, I think that's the first time in a while, if ever, that you've been able to see my being a werewolf in a positive light. Usually we don't talk about it, and if you see me in my wolf form, all that happens is you try and calm me down or get me to turn back."

"Well, that's because usually when you're in your wolf form, you tend to get destructive and that's not good," Elijah told her. "But being turned myself has given me a bit more understanding of it all, I suppose. Not to mention it was kind of nice to be able to see that side of you…for you to trust me with it. Cause usually that's reserved for my brother only. Not that I don't understand why, mind you."

"And since you vented some rage through killing last night, I feel more confident about putting an idea I had forth," Selina told him.

"What is it?" Elijah asked. "Is it about hunting?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "I think I should start hunting again, if only to give myself the strength and dexterity to fight off Freya or anyone else who might try and attack me. I'll do it with a buddy if that makes you more comfortable. But I really don't think sticking with blood bags will help for the time being."

"I suppose you're right," Elijah agreed. "But do you have any ideas about how to make sure you don't go over your limit? Clearly I'm not experienced enough to help you with that on my own."

"Well, don't beat yourself up," Selina suggested as she tied his tie that was the same blue as her eyes. "So you made a mistake about how much I should feed one time. That doesn't mean you should give up! I need you to have some part in this whole thing because we both know that I'm not good at regulating my blood intake if it's all left up to me. I mean, I'd try, of course, but it's really a crapshoot whether or not it would work."

"Yes, but who would know enough about your blood intake to make intelligent guesses about when the best stopping point is between just enough and too much?" Elijah asked. "And please don't tell me the only option we have is Niklaus. I don't think I could bear that. He's absolutely the last option."

"What about Anna?" Selina suggested. "She could help."

"Yes, she could," Elijah nodded. "All right. After school we'll visit her and tell her what's going on. Do you think she'll help us?"

"I do," Selina nodded. "Really."

* * *

They got through the day without any trouble and then got in Elijah's car to go visit his sister.

When they got to the house, Elijah rang the doorbell and they then heard the barking of a few dogs and Anna calling out, "No, Sparky and Cupcake! Stay back! It's only the door!"

Selina chuckled to herself and shook her head. "Sparky and Cupcake? I wonder what their _real_ names were before they pissed your sister off and she made it so they weren't people anymore?"

"I don't know," Elijah shrugged. "And while I can't say I approve of her methods, the fact that she's able to keep a business going and isn't just relying on the family money is admirable. She's like you that way."

"She actually told me that I should try and make money for myself at one point," Selina replied. "And to keep a close eye on everything I earn. I've always been grateful for that advice."

The door opened and Anna smiled and ushered them inside while the two little corgi puppies standing behind her ran after them and nipped at their heels.

"What brings you two here?" Anna asked. "Just a casual visit? Or has Freya attacked again?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "Things are quiet on that front, but…we need your help."

"Oh?" Anna asked and boosted herself up on the kitchen counter, pushing some of her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Both of you want my help?" She looked at Elijah. "You must be really desperate if that's the case."

"Well, yes," Elijah nodded. "It really is. We need someone to help me figure out the proper amount of blood to give Selina here so that she's strong enough to fight, but doesn't go overboard and just kill indiscriminately."

"You can't have both," Anna shook her head. "You have to choose one thing or the other. And I really think you should let her fight."

"I never thought he wouldn't let me," Selina replied. "Not after Freya's attack."

"But can you believe it took him _that long_ to realize that you need to be able to defend yourself? He likes keeping you home so he can protect you and feed his own hero image. You've become like one of those coddled poodles that eccentric old people leave their money to. Don't you want more than that?"

"I don't know what the hell you even mean, but I can tell it's not flattering," Elijah said. "We didn't come here to pick a fight. We just came to ask a favor. So will you help us or not?"

"Cause if you say 'No', then we'll have to ask Klaus and Elijah is _not_ looking forward to that," Selina told her. "Help us? Please? It'll give us more time to see each other."

"That's true," Anna agreed, picking up an apple, rubbing it on her sleeve, and then taking a bite out of it. "We don't get to see each other very often cause of what a bad influence I supposedly am, so I suppose I should take the chance when it's offered." She paused and peered at both of them as she chewed on her apple in silence. "All right," she said at last. "I'll help. But you," she told her brother, "you have to let me do what I think is best and follow my directions since that's what I'm being brought into this for, all right?"

"Fine," Elijah sighed. "I suppose that's only right."

"Good," Anna smiled. "Now Selina, can you go get a blood bag so you can show me how much you're consuming at the moment?"

"You're not gonna like it when I do," Selina replied.

"I'm prepared for that," Anna nodded. "I know I have my work cut out for me." She narrowed her eyes at Elijah. "I didn't expect anything less."

* * *

"Why is he here?" Freya groaned as she saw Kol come in with Mikael for their next talk.

"Nice to see you too, you two-faced strumpet," Kol replied cheerfully. "Having fun plotting the demise of your family just to save your own ass?"

"Oh, don't you taunt me, Kol," Freya told him, her voice cold. "If you were in my position, you would do exactly the same thing."

"I wouldn't," Kol replied and leaned forward. "That's the difference between us, sister."

"Maybe," Freya replied. "But did Father tell you the point of these meetings before he brought you here? I'm trying to help us all."

"Sure you are," Kol said dismissively. "I don't believe you."

"Isn't that what I said, Father?" Freya asked Mikael.

"Actually, you said you'd help _me_ escape death," Mikael told her. "I don't know when it was that you made the choice about everyone else. And Kol is here to make sure I don't let emotion take me over. A wise decision I think."

"I can't believe you don't trust me!" Frey cried. "I thought that's what families did!"

"And if you weren't consorting with a man who's trying to kill us all, we _would_ trust you," Mikael assured her. "You're playing a dangerous game. You have to make a choice before someone makes it for you. Cause I have a feeling that if that happens, you won't like the outcome."

"Interesting," Freya grinned. "Thank you for the warning, Father, but I don't think I need to worry about John. I have him completely under control."

"All right," Mikael replied skeptically and stood up. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Freya got home, and before she could even get a 'Hello' out, she felt herself be pulled off her feet and thrown into a wall.

"What?" She groaned. "What did I do?"

Things came into focus and she saw John standing over her. "Did you have a nice day out talking to your father? What did you tell him?"

"Nothing," Freya replied. "I swear!"

"Stop lying to me!" He said. "I know you've been sneaking around to see your father. That you've been making him promises to save him when the only person who's gonna be saved from this is you. Well, you _were_. I'm beginning to rethink my priorities now."

"No, you're not," Freya said firmly. "You told me that I'm gonna be the mother of your child and you won't get rid of me before that happens."

"You're right," John told her. "I won't. And I was hoping that we could take our time with this. That I could use our child's conception as a way of showing you that I do in fact have a heart. But now, I don't think I can afford that."

Freya got to her feet. "So when we conceive our child, it will be against my will?"

"No, of course not," John shook his head. "But the act will be purely for the purposes of conception. There'll be no lingering for reasons beyond that."

"Oh, well, that is _real_ romantic," Freya told him. "You're a real prince."

"I could have been," John said firmly, grabbing her arm and squeezing it in such a tight grip that she thought for sure the bone would break. "But you lost that privilege. Now…go to your room."

"You can't tell me to go to my room!" Freya told him.

John just heaved a long sigh and looked heavenward before picking her up, carrying her to her room, setting her down on her bed, then locking the door behind her and putting a spell on it so she couldn't leave until he gave her permission to do so.

* * *

"Klaus!" Selina cried when she opened the door to a knock and saw him standing on the other side. She jumped back a little, her eyes wide, and he smirked.

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked and stepped inside. "It's been a while since that's been the case."

"Well, I'm not foolish enough to forget that you could still kill me if you wanted to," Selina reminded him. "And that we still haven't made peace about the Vivi thing."

"And that's exactly what I've come to speak to you about," he told her. "Amy and Vivian have made me realize that perhaps my anger toward you was a bit unfounded considering how you both ended up. So I've come to say that I bear you no ill will any longer."

"Well, thank you," Selina said. "That means a lot." She paused. "Did you know that Elijah actually brought me with him on a little murder spree last night? I didn't kill anyone of course, cause it was mostly catharsis for him, but I was so pleased that he finally listened to his body and let the werewolf gene do what it does for once."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Elijah went on a murder spree and I missed it? Damn. That _would_ happen."

Just then, the door burst open and Elijah called out, "Niklaus, if you have injured or otherwise put a hand on my wife, we're going to be having problems, do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," Klaus told him. "But I came over here to fix problems, not start them. I've decided to get past what happened with Vivian." He grinned at his brother as Elijah sat down. "And if you're having trouble figuring out Selina's blood limitations, I would be more than happy to help."

"No," Elijah told him. "If you help, we'll have a situation like the one with Vivian all over again."

"What would make you say that?" Klaus asked. "I've been around her when she's hunted more than you have. I've seen the effects that various levels of blood have on her. Don't you think that makes me a good resource?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "Because between the two of you, you wouldn't choose to stop when you're supposed to."

"Yes, I would," Selina nodded. "I would try, anyway. I don't like taking too much and then not realizing that I've done something bad until after. Not anymore. That's why we asked Anna to help."

" _Anna_?" Klaus yelled at his brother. "What makes _her_ better at looking after Selina's blood intake than me? She has just as much reason to want to turn Selina back into Lonely Heart as I do."

"She promised that she would be careful and not go that far," Elijah told him. "And I'm inclined to believe her. Besides, Anna needs something to do."

"So do I!" Klaus replied. "Amy gets to be busy helping Astrid and Alistair direct the troops, but where does that leave me?"

"Why don't you help with the troop directing?" Selina suggested. "Surely Astrid can't look after everyone."

"Or at the very least, keep an eye on people like Lucien and Stefan," Elijah said. "We can't have them causing trouble when we already have enough to worry about."

"Fine," Klaus replied. "I'll do that. Or maybe I'll just let them run amok, who knows? I'm shifty so you don't know _what_ I'll do." He stormed off, leaving Elijah and Selina to stare at one another.

"Do you think we're in trouble?" Selina got out.

"I hope not," Elijah replied. "But he's angry, so who knows?"

"Damn, " Selina sighed. "And he seemed so even tempered when he came. That didn't last long, did it?"


	37. Serving Her Purpose

"Hey!" Freya cried as she knocked on the door of the room where she was still imprisoned. "I don't know how long I've been in here, but I demand that you let me out right now!"

"I don't plan to let you out," John called from the other side of the door. "I plan to come in."

"Oh?" Freya asked and stood against the door, blocking it with her body. "Why would you want to do that? If it's to take your manly privileges, I don't think I'd like that."

"Yes you would," He told her as the door burst open and Freya tumbled to the floor. He got down on his knees beside her and flipped her over to her back, leaning down to kiss her. "Don't lie," he said, making a tsk-ing sound. "It's not becoming."

"I don't care what's becoming or not," Freya replied and spit in his face before he pulled her to himself and kissed her hard. Then she bit him, greedily sucking blood from his neck and giving a mental chuckle when she heard his groan of pain. It was nice to know that she could still make him hurt. It made this whole situation a bit more bearable.

* * *

As Freya and John battled with each other in the living room, a knock on the front door made them pause. "Who the hell is that?" Freya asked, taking advantage of his distracted attention to slap him in the face.

"I don't know who it is," John told her, putting a hand to his cheek. "I hope that it isn't anyone you called to come and rescue you."

"Why would I want to be rescued by people I want dead?" Freya asked.

"You obviously care for some of them or you wouldn't still be talking to your father, would you?" John asked. "Maybe it was a fluke and if we don't answer, they'll go away."

But the doorbell kept ringing in a very insistent and annoying way that made John think that Edele was on the other end, trying to spoil his good time. He growled in frustration and got up to answer it after covering himself up with a blanket and ordering Freya to hide, which of course she didn't do, although she _did_ cover herself up too. "What?" He asked irritably.

"Well, hello to you too, Father," replied Molly, who stared at him from the step, her arms crossed.

"Molly!" He said in surprise, his expression brightening a little. "This is nice. I thought it was your mother, but you're a much better house guest."

"Thanks, but…" she looked around him and saw Freya. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh, you're not," Freya told her quickly. "We were just finishing." She then scampered away before John could get any more ideas.

John, however, was focused on other things now and pleased to see her go. "So…" he told Molly, "What brings you here? Have you finally decided to be loyal to the right family?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it _that_ way, necessarily," Molly replied and sat down on the sofa. "It's just that things have been sort of weird at home lately. Every time I've gone there to visit and have a conversation with Kai, he just…he doesn't act the same. He's cold and he's mean. Mom might be able to handle that, but I don't know if I can."

"And do you want to know why that is?" John asked, sighing dramatically and moving closer to her so he could put his arms around her in a hug.

"Why?" Molly asked. "How do you know? Do you have something to do with it?"

"Well, yes," John nodded.

"Did you mess him up just so I would come over here and be nice to you?" Molly asked, pushing him away and standing up before baring her teeth. "You better not have!"

"Oh, I didn't do it for the reason you're thinking," John assured her. "I did it because he asked me to. Well, in a way. I'd tell you more, but I think it would just hurt you, so I'll keep quiet."

"No, tell me!" Molly insisted and sat down next to him again. "I can handle the reason."

"Apparently, you and your brother aren't enough for him," John replied sadly. "Since you know, you're not technically their children, your father came and asked me to put a spell on him that would make him and your mother able to conceive again. His attitude is just one of the side effects of that spell."

"Is that so?" Molly asked. Though part of her figured he was only telling her this to try and to start trouble, another part of her wondered if there was some truth to it.

"Yes," John sighed. "I'm afraid it is. But when Kai and Victoria are so focused on their new child that they forget all about you, you know you'll always have a home here with me, right?"

Molly nodded. "Even though coming here could very well be the worst choice I make, I do know that, and in its own way, it's oddly comforting."

"Thank you, I think," John replied. "Want me to have Freya make you up a room?"

"No, thanks," Molly shook her head. "I'm not that desperate yet. I just came over here to put the word out."

"You don't have to lie. You can be honest with me," John told her. "Did Edele send you to spy?"

"No," Molly shook her head. "I don't even go near her unless I absolutely have to. I don't recall when it was that I saw her last. But if you _do_ see her, be sure to tell her that you screwed Daddy up more than she ever did. I'm sure she'll be glad to know."

"I didn't screw him up if that's what he asked for!" John called after her. "If he chose to be that way, it's not my fault!"

He watched her go and shut the door just as Freya came down stairs wearing nothing but a pair of red high heels. "What was all the shouting about?" She asked him, twisting her hair, her lower lip jutting out. "Bad day?" She took his hand and began kissing his fingers.

"No," John shook his head and pushed his dark hair back. "No, we're good."

"Who was that girl?" Freya wanted to know. "She's not gonna be competition, is she? If you're gonna kidnap me and choose me to be the one to bear your children, the least you could do is let me be the only one."

"Oh, no, no, no," John shook his head and took her face in his hands. "You're the only one, I promise. Molly's no threat to you." He kissed her and moved his hands down her sides and over her hips before cupping them around her bare bottom.

Then she reached out and undid his zipper, which made him break the kiss and grin. "No," he whispered. "Not here. In my own way, I'm a gentleman, so I'm not going to conceive our child while holding you up against a wall like a man taking a turn with a whore."

"How generous of you," Freya whispered dryly as he pulled her along to his room and ordered her onto his bed. He zapped off his clothes and went to join her, and as he'd told her, he didn't do much in terms of foreplay before burying himself inside her over and over again and grinning when, sweating and exhausted, she begged him to let her have a rest.

"I really should," he nodded, a smile dancing on his lips. "You'll soon find that our child is on the way. You'll need all the rest you can get."

"Oh, bullshit!" Freya cried. "It will take more than just the one time! I know you think a lot of yourself but this is a whole new level of self-absorption, isn't it?"

"No," he said and got out of bed. "And soon, you'll see that." He then dressed quickly and left her panting alone on the bed and wondering if he was lying or not.

* * *

"Adrian!" Amy cried as he strode into the house looking perturbed. "What's happened?"

"Is Dad here?" He asked. "I need to talk to him."

"Of course!" Amy nodded. "But he and Lucien have locked themselves away, so it might take some time to get his attention. Can I help?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "Now, this might be nothing to worry about, and I want to think that it is, but…I believe Molly's gone rogue."

"What?" Amy asked. "You mean you think she's up to something? Why would she be?"

"Well, apparently, Kai's gone evil and it's had a bad effect on her. Maybe they're lacking closeness or something. I don't know. She's always been the twin that would be more likely to want to get to know her birth parents, but now, with Kai out of commission, she just might be willing to do it."

"And what do you think that means for you?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, I hope," Adrian replied. "But I guess if I have to fight back, I will." He then went looking for his father to break the news about Molly to him.

"Well, damn, I'm sorry," Klaus replied and put a hand on his shoulder. "I thought things were going so well between you and Molly."

"I thought they were too, but you know my luck," Adrian replied. "If I can't even keep someone from going over to the dark side, what good am I?"

"Oh, my god he's wallowing," Lucien said. "Look at that, Klausy. Your son's a wallower. I would have thought that someone descended from you would deal with disappointment and anger in a better way, but-" He was cut off as Adrian reached out and grabbed him by the throat, squeezing and squeezing until it broke.

"You mean like that?" Adrian asked after dropping him to the floor. "Was that a tough enough reaction for you?"

Klaus chuckled as Lucien got to his feet. "You started it," he said. "I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Well, just so you know, if anyone should know that you're not a complete screw up, it's me," Lucien told Adrian when he could speak again. "I mean, sure you fucked Felicity up for a long time, but she's getting better. And…I suppose it was somewhat because of you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "I guess it was. You're still treating her well, right? If I asked her, that's what she'd say?"

"Of course!" Lucien nodded. "If that wasn't the case, she'd be long gone now, wouldn't she? She's not an idiot."

"Yeah," Adrian conceded, "I guess you're right." He then turned to his father. "What do you want to do about Molly?"

"Well, you know my methods," Klaus told him. "Are you positive that it's necessary to use them?"

"No," Adrian sighed. "Not yet. I should probably talk to her first, shouldn't I?"

"If you love her, yes, you should," Klaus nodded. "But, I will also prepare myself to question her if need be."

"Good," Adrian nodded and then started to make his way out of the room. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, son," Klaus told him.

* * *

That night, Jill bolted up in bed and screamed so loudly that Percy, Malachai, and Helene all came running to her room and sat down with her on her bed.

"What's the matter?" Helene asked.

"I had a vision!" She burst out, her blue eyes wide with fright. "I mean, it was so horrible that I hope it was just a bad dream but I'm pretty sure it was a vision."

"Well, what happened?" Percy asked, putting his arms around her. "Tell us, please?"

"There…there was a boy," she began as Helene pushed some of her blonde hair that was tousled from sleep out of her eyes. "There was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes and he…he was walking through fire! Then he waved his hand and the sun disappeared and everything was dark. It was just this endless night all over the place. And then, he just…he laughed and laughed over and over. It was like breaking glass! It was awful." She buried her head in Percy's shoulder. "If I shut my eyes I can still hear it. That and the wild barking dogs he had with the sharp teeth." She looked up. "But that's ridiculous, isn't it? That can't happen."

"No," Helene shook her head. "Of course not. Why don't we go get you some tea to help relax you?"

"And then you can come and sleep in my room," Percy offered. "You probably don't want to be alone after a dream like that."

"No," Jill shuddered as they all moved to the kitchen together. "No, I really don't."


	38. Looking Out For Me

"I think you need to talk to your dad," Lucien told Felicity. "He's having issues."

"What kind of issues?" Felicity asked. "Did you badger him? What did you do?"

"Why do you think I _did_ anything?" Lucien shrugged.

"You _love_ to pick fights with people, _especially_ Daddy," Felicity told him. "But if you didn't start a fight with him, at least tell me what the problem is so I know what to say."

"Apparently, he's worried about that little girlfriend of his going over to the dark side and betraying all of you," Lucien replied. "He even told your grandfather to look out for her too. Someone's gonna get a price on their head."

"Poor Daddy," Felicity sighed. "I just hope he doesn't do anything rash."

"Are you gonna talk to him?" Lucien asked. "I could help."

"No, you can't!" Felicity shook her head. "You started all this trouble and now I have to go clean up your mess. You're staying home!"

"I didn't start anything!" Lucien defended himself. "Sure, I might have stirred the pot a bit and made things worse than they needed to be, but it's what I do. You can't expect anything less from me. But despite all that, I didn't _start_ anything."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Felicity replied. "I'm gonna go and try to console my father." She took a few steps away from him, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders.

He kept his eyes on her and tried his hardest to do exactly what she said, but he really couldn't help himself. He got up, grabbed her around the waist, pulled her down so they were both sitting in a heap on the floor, and began gently nibbling on her neck.

"Hey!" She cried, trying to be serious, but laughing despite that because his lips tickled. "You were the one who told me that I had to see my dad and that it was such a big emergency."

"Well," Lucien took her in his arms and kissed her hair. "Maybe I was exaggerating that a bit. Your father is a grown man who can take care of himself. He doesn't need you to babysit him. And since your grandfather knows what's going on, he's probably doing more for him than you could."

"Well, I'm still gonna call and check on him anyway," Felicity told him as Lucien lowered her onto the floor and then pushed up her shirt to kiss her belly. "But like you say, he's an adult, so I suppose I could hold it off for a bit."

"Yeah," Lucien nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking." He then smiled down at her before moving from kissing her belly to kissing her lips while pushing his fingers through her hair after she threw her arms around his neck.

"See?" He told her when they pulled apart for a moment. "Isn't this fun? Just you and me and our bodies together…"

Felicity gave him a look before saying, "Yes it's fun. Yes, you're handsome. Yes, I'm the luckiest girl in the world." She paused. "Anything else you want me to say? You're never gonna hear it again, so you might as well tell me now."

"No," Lucien shook his head and carried her to their room. "No more talking."

* * *

It was later, when Felicity woke up and saw that Lucien was asleep on the mattress beside her, that she put on her robe and sneaked out to call Adrian.

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted him. "Lucien told me that you and Molly were having problems. Is there anything I can do?"

"You're very sweet," Adrian told her. "But no. We talked about it and she was just nervous about Kai's new personality. But Kai and Victoria explained everything to her about why he is the way he is and things are okay for now."

"'New personality'?" Felicity asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, he made a deal with a guy so that he could become a warlock again and he and Victoria could have children of their own, since Molly and Finn are actually his mother's biologically," Adrian explained. "And part of the deal was that he would lose his 'good' nature, and be dark again."

"And how do _you_ feel about that?" Felicity questioned. "Do you feel like you've lost a friend?"

"No, not really," Adrian told her. "Thanks to your grandparents, what I'm seeing with Kai is nothing new. I'll have to thank them for that at some point. Is Lucien still treating you all right?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "We're fine."

"Has anyone called to let you in on what we've all got going on, or do you still feel left out?"

"No one's come up with anything yet, but I'm gonna call Lenora and see if I can join in with whatever it is that she and James are doing for the Council. That might make all those government types like me again."

"Are you aiming to get your magic back?" Adrian asked.

"No," Felicity shook her head. "I've been without it for so long that if I got it now, I don't know what I'd do with it. I just want to help."

"I'm sure you will," Adrian replied. "I'm sure your sister will be more than happy to give you a chance."

"Me too," Felicity agreed. "Now listen, I should probably be getting back to Lucien, but if you need me for anything, you just call, all right?"

"Thank you," Adrian told her. "I sure will. You too?"

"Yes," Felicity assured him. "If I need anything, I'll let you know." She ended the call, turned around, and shrieked. Lucien had sneaked up behind her with a sheet wrapped around his waist while she'd been talking, and was standing so close to her that their chests brushed as she turned.

"Were you talking to your father?" He asked. "It's a shame you hung up. I would have liked to have a few words with him myself."

"I don't think he would have liked what you had to say," Felicity replied. "I'm gonna go dress and shower and then visit my sister. Wanna come?"

"To visit your sister? No," Lucien shook his head. "But there's no way in hell I would pass up a chance to join you in the shower. You look good wet."

"Oh, shut up and come on," Felicity grinned and pulled him along behind her as she made her way to the bathroom.

* * *

"You know, Davina, I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Annie told her friend as Davina and Thomas parked Thomas' car in Selina and Elijah's driveway. "Why can't I just learn how to dress for myself? No one really 'gets' my style."

"And what style would you say you have?" Davina asked. "You have one pair of jeans and two shirts. Can't you just trust us?"

"Fine," Annie sighed. "Let's go in. You have ten minutes and if I don't like what I'm seeing, I'm out of there." Both Thomas and Davina took one of her arms and led her inside and when Selina came to the door wearing a hot pink dress with different colored polka dots and a purple cardigan over it, Annie turned and tried to run.

"No, wait!" Selina cried. Damon had warned her about the girl. "It's okay! Can we talk? Please? I won't make you wear anything with polka dots! I promise!"

After Thomas and Davina managed to catch her and bring her into the house, she and Selina both sat at the kitchen table to talk. "I don't do that many bright colors," Annie told her firmly. "Or outlandish patterns."

"Oh, this isn't outlandish!" Selina told her, taking a bunch of her skirt fabric in her fist.

"If you were stuck in a crowd, there's no way anyone would possibly miss you," Annie pointed out. "It's outlandish."

"Okay, so you prefer one color in your clothes?" Selina asked, quickly changing the subject and then going to get a pad of paper and a pen so she could make notes. "One color, nothing too fancy or elaborate. Got it."

"And no dresses either," Annie added. "I don't do dresses."

"Not even one?" Selina asked in surprise. "I would get at least one. You might need it at some point."

"All right," Annie sighed. "But just one. And you better let _me_ pick it out. I don't want any big-skirted, poofy monstrosity."

"Oh, of course I'll let you pick it out," Selina reassured her. "My mother picked out my clothes for years and they were never anything I really wanted."

"Really?" Thomas asked, taking a break from watching the exchange like a tennis match. "She always picks out really nice stuff for me and Dad."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "You and Uncle Andrew let Mama pick out your clothes?"

"Well, it's just easier that way," Thomas shrugged. "Plus it makes her so happy that how could we say no?"

"Easy," Selina replied. "Just go up to her and say, 'I would like to be in charge of my own wardrobe thank you'. It's a speech I rehearsed in my head many times. And even said many times. But I was still ignored by and large."

"Dad does sometimes," Thomas reassured her. "Especially when it comes to his suits."

"Good," Selina said. "I would be worried about him if he didn't."

"Hey!" Annie cried and snapped her fingers. "Can we get back to talking about me?"

"Sure, but why would you want me to talk about you when you obviously have no interest in what I have to say and think you'd do better all by yourself?" Selina wanted to know.

"Okay," Annie sighed. "Maybe I was a little harsh and I'm sorry. I suppose you know more about clothes and crap than I do, and as long as I get some input into what I wear, I will…I will give up some control and trust your expertise." She paused and her eyes narrowed. "But you better not screw it up."

"Oh, I won't," Selina promised, making a mental reminder to thank Damon for introducing her to such a challenging person. "I promise. You'll get no trouble from me."

They left to get Annie some new clothes, leaving Thomas and Davina alone in Selina and Elijah's house. "So, what do we do now?" Davina asked. "I feel a little weird just being here in your sister's house. Can we go see your parents? It's been a while since we've seen them, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has," Thomas nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

"Well, look who's here!" Andrew announced when he opened the door. "A new opponent for you, Amelia!"

"'Opponent'?" Thomas repeated as they stepped inside. "All right, now I'm nervous. Just what do you mean by that?"

"Your mother wanted me to teach her how to box, so I did, and now she's getting really good," Andrew smiled. "Want to give her some practice?"

"Well, that depends," Thomas said and stood up. "How comfortable would she be with beating up her own son?"

Andrew chuckled. "Well, I know she's all right with accidentally hitting me."

"Well, accidentally is different than on purpose," Thomas replied.

"I'll do it," Davina volunteered as Amelia came into the living room.

"Thomas!" She said. "Would you mind helping me with my-"

"I'll be your boxing partner!" Davina told her.

"All right," Amelia smiled. "But no magic, though."

"Of course not," Davina promised. "No magic." She pushed up her sleeves and then they went into the yard taking their positions and throwing punches in the air.

"Did you know that Davina could box," Andrew asked Thomas.

"No," Thomas rubbed his hands together and smirked. "This'll be fun."

"All right," Andrew called. "Three, two, one, go!"

They then watched as both women fought with an alacrity that surprised them. They weren't afraid to actually hit, which meant that when Amelia finally fell to the ground and Davina was declared the winner, they both were sporting black eyes, Amelia's nose was bleeding, and Davina had a bump on her head.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Thomas asked as he got her some ice.

"At the asylum it's kind of how Samantha and I would occupy ourselves. No wonder everyone thought we were dangerous," Davina replied. Then she turned to Amelia. "How's your nose? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Amelia replied, tissue up her nostril. "I'll be all right. Thanks. How's your bump?"

"Fine," Davina replied. "You're really good."

"Thanks," Amelia smiled. "I'm gonna get myself some cake. Who wants some?"

"I do!" Thomas replied.

"I'll get it," Andrew replied and kissed her forehead. "You just watch your nose, okay?"

"Thank you," Amelia told him. "Get the chocolate cake on the middle shelf. I want a big piece, please."

"Me too," Thomas added. "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

"You should feel terrible about leaving Annie with Selina for the day," Stefan said to Damon. "Do you feel terrible?"

"No, I don't," Damon shook his head. "Selina's tough. She can handle her."

"Tough and in love with bright colors," Stefan smiled. "Just what that Annie needs." He chuckled.

"And when you say that, do you mean it as a joke, or do you really think she'll help?" Samantha asked.

"No, I really think she will," Stefan replied. "I don't think Thomas would do anything that would humiliate her, and knowing Davina as you do, do you think she would either?"

"No," Samantha shook her head. "I don't. I can't wait to see what Annie gets for her new wardrobe."

"Picture her in bright colors," Stefan said and sniffed Samantha's hair. "And polka dots."

Damon chuckled. "I like the image. It's very amusing."

He got up just as Samantha shook her empty beer bottle at him. "Can I have another one, please?"

"Sure," Damon nodded and took the bottle from her. When he came back with her new bottle, he sat down and said, "I have to say, I really enjoyed the party the other day."

"I'm glad," Samantha replied. "Sorry if talking to my brother was awkward. I'm trying to get him to have more of a social life, but he's not much of a people person. You probably guessed that."

"Is he actually looking to get a motorcycle?" Damon asked. "Or was that just a random subject for conversation? Cause you know who really knows about motorcycles? Selina's daughter Roxie and her husband Vince. They both have them and Vince does repair work at a garage when he's not helping Roxie at the bar. I'm surprised Ethan didn't suggest that. Unless Elijah never let him go there."

"That's a good idea," Samantha said. "I totally forgot about that place. Ian might like it there." She smiled at Stefan. "I know I did."

"Yeah," Stefan smiled and ran a hand over her thigh. "We should go again."

"We should," Samantha agreed and kissed him as Damon groaned at them and tried his best to swallow his drink.


	39. Fighting Every Impulse

"Damn you!" Freya swore at John, who stood over her, smirking. She lay in bed with every part of her body aching, the only thing motivating her to get up being when she had to run to the toilet and be sick. He hadn't been lying when he'd said that the conception of their child would happen immediately."You knew this was gonna happen and you…you…!"

"Now, now," John chuckled. "Be careful about your blood pressure. Being this worked up is not good for our child."

"What child?" Freya asked. "It's not a child yet! It's too early. Just a bunch of misery is what it is!" She growled and reached for John so she could wrap her fingers around his throat, but he moved deftly out of the way.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but probably anything you give me will have poison in it or something," Freya scowled.

"Now don't be stupid," John told her. "Now that you're pregnant, you're probably safest, wouldn't you say? How would killing you now benefit me?"

"Well, I don't know!" Freya got out. "I just need to be angry!" Her whole body tensed then and she shut her eyes tight before letting out a scream that made John step back, his jaw dropping as the mirror over the dresser cracked and she began to rise up from the mattress and hover a few inches above it.

"All right, all right," John said. He was beginning to get unsettling flashbacks of what happened when his sisters were in uncontrollable bad moods and he would be damned if he let the same sort of things happen with Freya. He took her hand and gave it squeeze while doing his best to send calming energy her way. Eventually, her breathing calmed and she lowered back onto the mattress and John climbed in bed beside her to push some of her blonde hair out of her eyes and rub her belly. "Seriously now," he said when she turned her head to gaze at him. "Can I get you anything to make you more comfortable?"

Freya still stared at him suspiciously because he was _never_ this nice unless there was anything in it for him, but finally, she decided to go with it. "I want some more pillows," she told him. "And another blanket because I'm cold! And a sandwich and some ice cream, and…"

"All right, all right," he said as he got her the pillow and blanket. "Slow down and tell me one thing at a time or I won't remember all of it."

"You mean you'll actually get me everything?" She asked in amazement.

"Yes," John nodded. "If that's what you want."

"I—I actually wasn't expecting you to," Freya got out, feeling shocked and a little embarrassed. "I thought you would be annoyed by all my demands and run away."

He sighed. "Well, you're not the first woman to take great joy from ordering me about. It's something I'm used to."

"Am I the prettiest, though?" Freya asked.

"Yes," he said and kissed her. "You are. I think I made the right choice to be the mother of my child. And that has nothing to do with how limited the pool of potential mothers was to begin with if I wanted the child to be as strong as I had in mind." He paused. "So…tell me again what it was you wanted from the kitchen? A sandwich and some ice cream?"

"No," She said, her stomach roiling at just the _thought_ of eating something solid. "Not yet. Maybe just some soup. Or toast. And some tea, please. I just want to experiment with what I can keep down."

"All right," John nodded. "I'll get you some blood too, so you can keep your strength up. You take care of the child and I'll take care of you. That's the plan now."

"Well, I should hope it would be," Freya replied with a smile. "Do you know all the trouble I'm going to for you?"

"I can see it," John told her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Freya told him and then watched him as he left to go to the kitchen and shut the bedroom door behind him.

* * *

"And what is it that you want?" John asked when Edele came striding in some hours later. "I don't have time for your taunting."

"Oh, I didn't come to taunt," Edele replied. "But I _would_ like to know what it is you're doing to Molly to make her so upset."

"Your son made a deal with me so that he and Victoria could conceive another child who is completely their own. Part of that deal involved Kai going through personality change that was very disconcerting for Molly. She came over, and I told her the truth about why the change had taken place," John shrugged. "It's not my fault that she took it to mean that Kai and Victoria would never love her again because they're focused on their biological child, so you and I are now her only means of emotional support." He paused. "You can thank me now. I'm waiting."

Edele sighed. "You know I'm more than happy to have our children on our side, but you didn't have to do it in such a hurtful way. We want them to _like us_ , remember? Not hate us because you manipulated them."

"You have your ways," John told her coldly, "and I have mine." It was then that Freya came tiptoeing into the room and he turned away from Edele. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy." He left Edele to run over to Freya and gently take her arm to escort her back to bed. "What are you doing up?" He asked. "I thought we agreed that if you wanted something, you would ring that little bell by your bed and not traipse about and wear yourself out."

"Well, I was feeling energetic so I thought I would take advantage of that when I could," Freya explained. "I don't want to be in bed when I don't have to be cause it's such a rare thing for that to happen. I was just gonna take a walk to the kitchen and back."

"Oh, all right," John sighed and then gave her a quick kiss and little spank on the bottom before watching her turn to walk back to her room. It was nice to see her feet planted firmly on the ground for a change. The child was turning her into a floater. For her own safety, he'd have to tie her down. And try not to think about what that usually meant for the two of them because she definitely wasn't in the right condition for that kind of fun.

* * *

"I know that face, brother," Klaus grinned as Elijah stomped into his house and sat heavily down on the sofa. "Trouble at home? I hear Selina's begun hunting again."

"Klaus, don't tease him," Amy told her husband firmly. Then she said, "Elijah, has something bad happened? Did Selina have another upset?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "It's that Anna! I'd like to kill her! She's a homewrecker! Why can't she just keep her nose out of other people's business? Encouraging Selina to go out and hunt when blood bags are just as good." He glared at his brother. "And would you leave, please, Niklaus? I have something I'd like to talk about with Amy in private."

"What's the problem?" Amy wanted to know. "Has…has Selina told you that she wants to leave? I've seen you two together and I don't believe she could love someone any more than she loves you."

"Exactly," Klaus said. "Despite the fact that you don't let her do anything fun, she's still fiercely devoted to you. Don't ruin it by being an idiot." He had no intention of leaving at all because this was _far_ too juicy of a discussion for him to miss.

Elijah sighed. "She still comes home every night," he said, pointedly ignoring his brother and focusing his attention on Amy instead. "But who knows? One day she might decide she loves hunting so much that she'll never come back. That I'm not worth giving it up for."

"Talk to her about that," Amy urged. "She'll tell you that you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I'd like to see him try," Klaus smirked. "That pride of his will stop him from getting a word out. I'm sure of it."

Amy then zapped him out of the room and into their bedroom. "There," she told Elijah. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry," Elijah told her. "I'm used to it by now. So…do you think I should talk to her?"

"I really think it would be best," Amy replied. "But can I ask why it's still a worry for you when it's proven that she comes home every night?"

Elijah sighed. "It took her a very long time to finally pull free of the relationship that she had with my brother and commit fully to me," he confessed. "And I think it was because Niklaus allowed her excitement and freedom in a way that I…don't. I'm just the one who bombards her with rules and, as my brother said, doesn't let her have any fun."

"Oh, that's not true anymore!" Amy replied. "Don't you think that ever since you became a werewolf, it's given you a better understanding about why she acts so impulsively and needs so much stimulation? I think it has."

"Maybe," Elijah nodded. "You might have a point."

"Talk to her," Amy urged again. "I'm sure she'll be more than happy to allay your fears."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I think she will. Thank you, Amy."

"You're welcome," Amy told him.

* * *

That night as Selina and Anna came in from hunting, Elijah said goodbye to his sister and took Selina into his office. "I have something I need to discuss with you," he told her.

"I knew this was coming," Selina sighed. "I knew that even though I was upfront with you about the hunting and took every possible precaution, you'd still have issues with it. So go ahead and tell me what they are."

"I _do_ apparently still have issues with it," he told her, taking her hand. "But not the way you think." He took a deep breath and fought against every impulse he had that was telling him not to speak about his fears because it would make her think less of him. Then he said, "When you hunt, do you ever feel like that's what you want to do forever? Like…like coming back to me would leave you with a sense of emptiness?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "In fact, ever since I started hunting, I feel more fulfilled, you know? Like I've sowed my wild oats or scratched an itch that's been itching forever. I…I feel so ready to come home after a day of hunting that you don't even know." She sighed and pulled his face down to kiss him. "I know you worry," she said. "And based on my behavior with Klaus and how long it took me to let him go, I don't blame you. But I…I'm not gonna leave you for a life of murdering and giving in to blood lust. I got that out of my system _years_ ago. And I'm always gonna remember how lonely I was during that time. Having all the blood I wanted and no rules about hunting didn't compensate for the fact that my life lacked stability and I didn't have anyone to kiss me goodnight or snuggle with me when I woke up in the morning. And you do that for me." She hugged him, her voice breaking a little. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he said and hugged her back, feeling as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders. "It's my pleasure, really."


	40. Getting To The End Of The Rope

"Ah!" Freya yelled from the bathroom a few weeks later. "Ah! Oh, my god, I'm going to die! It hurts so much, make it stop!" Another scream rang out and John ran to knock on the door.

"Are you all right?" He called. "What can I do?" Then there was a noise as if she'd fainted. He kicked the locked bathroom door open and saw her unconscious on the floor, her robe covering a tiny bump. He sighed with relief because it meant that her pregnancy was progressing normally. With the purpose he had in mind for this child, he couldn't wait for it to grow the normal amount of time. That would be too long. He splashed some water on her face and slowly her eyes fluttered. "What…what the hell is going on, John? I just found out I was pregnant and now I have a small bump! How fast is this damn baby growing? And why…why does it feel like it's eating me from inside?"

"You'll be all right," he assured her. "Don't worry. Everything is going as it should."

"Well, that's all well and good that your spawn is growing well," Freya spat as he helped her sit up and then picked her up to carry her back to bed. "But what the hell about _me_? Don't you care about me at all? Or am I just the vessel and you're waiting for the day I give birth so I'll die and you can raise your super powerful child unhindered by anyone else?"

"I do care for you," John replied and put her blankets over her. "But I've made it clear to you since the beginning of our association that a big part of why you're with me is because you are able to give me the powerful child I've always longed for that will begin a line of beings so powerful that they'll eclipse anything my sisters ever did."

"Don't you mean 'the powerful _son_ I've always longed for'?" Freya spat. "You wouldn't like it so much if it was a girl."

"I wouldn't go that far, but yes," John nodded. "There's a reason that it's gonna be a boy."

"You don't know that!" Freya cried. "How could you know that? The chance of us having a boy is rare and you know it."

"I do," John nodded. "Which is why I made _sure_ that it would be a boy."

"How?" Freya asked.

"That's my business," John replied and kissed her before heading out of the bedroom. "Not that I need to tell you this," he said, pausing at the door. "But yell if you need anything. You will, won't you?"

"Damn right," Freya nodded.

* * *

Later in the day, after once again feeling like she was being gnawed on from the inside out as well as slowly fading in and out before finally becoming solid again, she zapped up a knife and called John.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, trying to coax her to give him the knife.

"I'm just in so much pain that I can't stand it!" Freya replied. "I shouldn't have to go through this when it's all about you and there's no benefit for me, should I? I thought that by siding with you, I would benefit. That I would finally get the attention that I deserved after so many years of being ignored by family. But you're no different from them; you just use me to make someone else who'll matter more when it's all over. And I don't think this is fair, which is why I'm gonna make you watch while I kill your son!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" He said as she undressed and stood before him in nothing but her panties and made a shallow cut with the knife just under her belly. "Don't, Freya. If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your days!"

"Oh? Why?" Freya wanted to know. "Give me one good reason!"

"Because if you kill the child, every other vampire in the world will die, including your family," John got out. "I mean it. I knew that it would ensure your cooperation if those were the stakes."

As Freya took in this information, her grip on the knife handle loosened and he was able to take it away from her. "You bastard!" She whispered and punched him in the face. "You damned fucking bastard!" She zapped him, but instead of the full on headache and wail of pain she was expecting, he just rubbed his temples and shut his eyes. "Stop this now," he said. "You can't really hurt me. Not in a way that will be satisfying for you. So why don't you just get some rest and we'll talk more about this later."

"Oh, don't bother," Freya narrowed her eyes. "No matter how much we talk about it, you're still gonna be an absolute bastard. There's no way to change that. But yes, you leaving would be an _awfully_ good idea. Goodbye!"

* * *

"Okay, I got your cookies and your popcorn and the candy," Selina said to Drew. He and Clarissa had finally decided to have a double date with Stephanie and Percy. "Anything else you need? It is so sweet to see you and your sister getting along like this."

"Yes, well, Clarissa is her best friend," Drew said. "She probably still wonders if I'm gonna treat her all right. I tried to explain that the sex business was Clarissa's idea, but Stephanie will probably blame me and accuse me of leading Clarissa on. I want to use this to tell her it's not true."

"What's not true?" Stephanie asked, coming into the kitchen and stealing a cookie off the plate.

"I'm not leading your friend on and treating her badly," Drew replied. "I like her too much to do that."

"Good," Stephanie smiled. "Cause I was planning to use tonight to tell you the same thing about me and Percy."

"This is nice!" Selina smiled and hugged them both. "All right. How long until Percy and Clarissa arrive?"

"Half an hour," Stephanie told her. "You and Dad will be gone then, right?"

"Of course," Selina nodded and showed off her new dress that was black and white striped and knee-length with black capped sleeves. "We have dinner reservations and your dad won't want to be late."

As if to prove her point, Elijah came in a few seconds later, her coat in hand. He helped her on with it and then gave her a quick spank before nudging her toward the door. "Let's go, let's go. Reservations can't be missed, I don't want to lose them. And I know it's a bit early, but you can never tell about traffic."

"Don't you want to say something to your children before we go?" Selina asked pointedly.

Elijah cleared his throat and cast his gaze on Drew and Stephanie who were waiting with bated breath to see what their father would tell them. "I remember hearing that you two will both have dates here tonight," he said. "Don't do anything your mother is always trying to get me to do, all right? Have a good time, but also be responsible."

"Hey!" Selina punched him in the arm. "Don't act like all our shenanigans are my idea," she said. "You start them too, sometimes!"

"And that's enough," Drew said after he and Stephanie gave one another a meaningful look. "Like you say, you should probably get going now in case the traffic is bad. I hope you two have a good night!"

"We will too!" Stephanie added. "We'll get along with each other and keep the house in one piece!" She then went to stare out the window, pleased to see that two cars were pulling into the driveway just as their parents were leaving. "We got Mom and Dad out of the way just in time," she said. "Clarissa and Percy are here! Although why they brought cars, I have no idea."

"You get the door and I'll set up the movie," Drew said. And by the time Clarissa and Percy reached the living room, the previews were running and the snacks were out.

"What promptness," Clarissa said and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "I like it!"

They paired up and sat on opposite couches, intending to just watch the movie, but instead lapsed into conversation instead. "Is your dad still upset about what we did?" Percy asked Stephanie. "I mean, he's been nicer to me since the dinner, but with him, I can never be sure."

"He hasn't brought it up, so I think we're good as long as we don't repeat the experience," Stephanie assured him. "Or at least forego letting him know about it if we do it again before we're married."

"Maybe we should hold off," Percy decided. "Cause I'm really bad at keeping stuff like that a secret."

"Okay," Stephanie nodded and then turned her attention to her brother. "Lucky for you that you don't have to put up with that sort of crap from Dad because you're a boy," she said. "You're gonna take advantage of it, I suppose."

"We can't," Clarissa told Stephanie. "Things are a bit more complicated for us." She gave Drew a hot look, grabbed him, and kissed him hard. "Not that I wouldn't _love_ to, of course."

"Yeah, I think it would be best if we waited too," Drew nodded. "That's the honorable thing to do."

"Would you listen to yourself?" Stephanie asked, trying not to laugh. "You sound like an old guy! You sound like Dad!"

"Well, could it be that in this case he's not wrong?" Drew asked. "We wait until we're married and that's that."

"Exactly," Clarissa nodded. She and Drew joined hands and kissed each other, then she quickly changed the subject. "Let's get back to watching the movie now, shall we?"

* * *

After Annie and Damon's shooting lesson had ended for the day, she decided she needed to take some time to re-charge. She found one of the house's empty rooms and shut the door behind her, wondering what she was going to do with herself. After some thought, she used her magic to zap up the dress bags that were hiding deep in her closet at Helene and Malachai's. Though she'd been skeptical about going with Selina to get her new wardrobe at first ( _especially_ the dresses) she'd been so understanding and helpful that Annie had not only gotten one dress, but two: a black one and a dark green one. She unzipped the dress bag that contained the green dress (which had spaghetti straps and a surprisingly flouncy skirt) and then, after making sure the door was closed, she changed out of her jeans, and into the dress, then went to stand in front of the mirror. She had to admit that she looked good. She began twirling in front of the mirror, over and over.

Then she let out a screech and covered herself up as the door opened and Damon strode in. "Hey, Annie, I got myself a drink and I wondered if you want…Oh, my god," he cried and dropped his glass of bourbon on the floor. "What…what are you wearing?"

"This is one of the dresses Selina got me to buy," Annie told him. "Would you mind zipping me up?"

"Are you sure you want me to?" Damon asked.

"Not normally, but it's not like I can do it myself, can I?" She asked. She expected him to just zip it up and leave, but instead, she felt his fingers trail up her back and neck, and then his lips nibbling on her as he pulled her against his hard body. "You look beautiful in that dress," he whispered in her ear.

"Thank you," she got out, her breath picking up. "I'm glad you like it. I got it for you, you know." She gasped after making the admission and tried to get out of his grip then, but he held onto her. He turned her around and kissed her, a long and lingering kiss as he reached around and zipped up her dress.

"There you go," he said when the kiss ended. "Did you want a drink or not?"

"Yeah," Annie nodded, trying to keep her breathing steady. "I'd like a soda. That would be nice."

"All right," Damon nodded and gave her a wink before heading out of the room. "Coming right up."


	41. The Invitations

"Have you ever been to a ball?" John asked Freya as he came to stand over her beside.

"Of course I've been to a ball before!" Freya replied irritably. "I'm a thousand years old! How could I _not_ have been to a ball in the last thousand years? What kind of a stupid question is that?"

"It's not a stupid question," John told her. "It's an important one. Because I…I want to have a ball and invite some friends, and I want to make sure that you don't make a fool of yourself."

"Oh, I won't be making a fool of myself cause I'm not coming, but you can have whatever party or ball that you want," Freya replied.

"But you have to come!" John told her. "I'm not going to show up alone! You can walk around now. Things aren't as bad for you as they were a little while ago!"

"That could change," Freya huffed. "For all we know, it could come _bursting_ out of my stomach in the middle of the ballroom and that would ruin the party, wouldn't it?"

"It would, but luckily that won't happen, even if it feels like it," John told her. "I would really like it if you would come."

"Do I have a choice to decline?" Freya narrowed her eyes.

"Well, of course you do if you genuinely feel uncomfortable," John assured her. "I'm not such a monster that I would make you endure all that in addition to terrible discomfort."

"Yet you're monster enough to make me carry your child without my express permission," Freya reminded him."

"Oh, that's not true," John countered. "We planned for a child. You just weren't expecting the process to be so painful."

"Just go away," Freya huffed. "I'll come to your stupid party if you go away and cause trouble for someone else."

"All right," John nodded and kissed her hair. "Thank you. That's all I wanted anyway." He then zapped up a red rose to put in a vase at Freya's bedside and then went to his office to think about who he was going to invite and then make up the invitations so they could be sent out as soon as possible. With an event like this, there wasn't a moment that could be wasted.

* * *

"Oh, damn, oh, shit! Oh, _shit!"_ Annie ran through Malachai and Helene's house, the crumpled invitation in her palm.

"What?" Malachai asked as he came running out of the kitchen with Helene on his heels. "What's the matter? Why are you yelling?"

"What can we do for you?" Helene added.

"Nothing," Annie said quickly and hid the envelope behind her back. She didn't want to tell them that she was holding an invitation to a ball. An actual, honest to god _ball!_ It all seemed so unbelievable. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. I just…never mind." She zapped herself to Damon's and knocked on the door.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," he said when he opened it and put a hand around her waist to pull her inside. "Did you come for an early shooting lesson? Or would you just like to kiss?"

"I was invited to a ball," she said, holding the invitation out. "If you give me the gun, I'll shoot myself and I won't have to go. I didn't even know that people actually _had_ balls. I thought they just made them up for stories!"

"No, they're real things," Damon sighed. "I had to attend way too many of them when I was human." He sighed. "Do you need me to teach you how to dance?"

"Maybe," Annie nodded. "Just how good are you?"

"Well, I would say that I'm several steps above the average person," Damon replied. "You wanna get started now?"

"We might as well," Annie nodded. "It doesn't seem like I have much time to learn."

"Why don't you zap yourself back into that green dress you were wearing?" Damon suggested. "It might be easier for you to master the steps in the right clothes."

Annie snorted. "Oh, come on. I know you're only saying that because you want to see me in the green dress again."

"Okay," Damon nodded and stepped away from her, holding his hands up. "You caught me, I can't lie anymore. Yes, I want to see you in a dress that makes you look beautiful and makes it impossible for me to take my eyes off of you. Is that a crime?"

"No, it's a line," Annie told him, leaning in close enough so that their lips were nearly touching. "And I don't know if I like it." She did, but she just didn't want him to know. He seemed like the sort of guy who lived off women's flattery and she didn't want to be another notch on his belt.

"It's not a line," Damon told her, his voice quieter than before. His eyes were locked on hers and he wasn't blinking as he took her hand and massaged the palm with his thumb. "I really do like you in that dress. It looks good with your eyes."

"Well…" Annie sighed. "You're right, I suppose it does." She zapped herself into the dress, but kept her tennis shoes on. Then she waited for him to put a song on and although they stumbled through the first couple of dances (and he thanked her profusely for not wearing heels) soon, she got through a dance without tripping or stepping on him, which was something he noticed and commented on.

"I'm really pleased you're doing so well," he told her. "You've made a lot of progress in such a short time. We can stop now if you want and you can get back in your normal clothes."

"Yeah," Annie nodded. "All right." But then after she'd changed, she turned the music on again and held out a hand to Damon. "Will you dance with me?" She asked. "Not doing steps or anything, but…you know?"

"Sure," Damon replied and took her in his arms. Then they swayed to the music while she lay her head on his shoulder and he held her close to his heart.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Drew said as he brought Clarissa into his parents' house. "Your sister's fiancé was kidnapped, is being held for ransom, and they have no idea where he is."

"Yep," Clarissa answered in a very perky way. "Mom and Daddy are _terribly_ overwrought about it all. That's why they let me move in with you. They think it'll be safer for me to live in a place where the kidnappers are less likely to find me."

"Well, you know that I'm more than happy to shield you from kidnappers," Drew told her. "And of course we'll find you a room of your own."

"Are there extra?" Clarissa asked. "Cause I would be more than happy to sleep on cot or something in your room if there's no extra room for me to sleep in."

"Oh, there is," Drew told her and then frowned as he grabbed an envelope off the table. "This looks like that ball invitation you got," he told her. "Maybe I've been invited too."

"And if you want to match your jacket to my dress, it's going to be gold," Clarissa told him.

"Thanks," Drew told her. "I wouldn't want us to clash. That would be terrible."

"Andrew?" Called Elijah. "Andrew, are you home? Did you bring Clarissa with you like we discussed?"

"Yes, Mr. Mikaelson, I'm here!" Clarissa yelled back. "Thank you for having me."

"No problem at all," Elijah told her as he came to join them. "I heard what's going on with your parents and your sister's fiancé. Are things any closer to being sorted out? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not that I know of," Clarissa told him. "But thank you." She then reached out and took hold of his tie. "Looks like you've got a bit of a stain," she remarked and zapped it off. "There you go, it's gone."

"Well, thank you," Elijah smiled at her. "I didn't even notice that." He then said to Drew, "Why don't you take Clarissa and show her her room? Surely she would rather be getting settled in then just standing her and going on and on in the entryway."

"It's fine, Mr. Mikaelson," Clarissa assured him. "It doesn't bother me." But Drew gave her some cookies from under the dome on the table and then they went to the room that had once belonged to Laura, and helped her unpack.

"What are you doing now?" She asked when she saw him messing around with the covers on her bed. "It looks fine."

"They aren't straight and it's really bothering me," he told her and then gave the purple comforter a tug. "There you go. All perfect."

Clarissa looked around the room which was painted in neon and had walls covered in rock band posters. "Who in the world slept here?"

"My sister Laura," Drew told her. "She's the wild child of the family. Or she was. She's toned it down a little since she and her husband married and had their sons, though." He paused. "Is it too crazy? Would you like a different room? It's just that mine is next door, and I thought…"

"No," Clarissa replied, taking him in her arms and kissing him to get him to stop talking. "It's fine, thank you. But don't think I won't stop to visit you every once in a while since you're so close and all. It'll give you a chance to know that I don't steal covers when I sleep."

"Good," Drew said. "We just won't say anything about it to my father." He paused. "And when you say you'll visit me, that's with clothes staying on, right?"

"Yes," Clarissa nodded. "Although if you tried to tell me that you don't see me otherwise in your head, I would have to call you a liar."


	42. The Ball: Part One

"Here we are!" John told Freya as he came into her room the morning of the ball, very relieved to see her sitting up and looking perturbed but not ill. "Lovely to see you looking well. It's ball day, you know."

"You seem annoyingly cheerful," Freya remarked as she got out of bed and winced when her cold bare feet touched the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just excited!" John replied, his dark eyes sparkling. "Can't a man be excited about a party?"

"Well, whatever, I guess," Freya remarked. "Now did you buy me a dress for this thing?" She asked. "Or make one for me, or whatever?"

"I did," John nodded, producing an ivory gown with a sweetheart neckline out of thin air. It had layers of fabric that went down the dress and was long enough to cover her feet.

"How the hell am I supposed to wear that with the stomach I've got going on?" She asked.

"Oh, I let it out a bit in the middle," John replied. "It'll fit you fine and you'll look wonderful!" He smiled and zapped on his own outfit: black pants, a white jacket, and a black bow tie.

"You know," Freya huffed, "I would zap off your head or something, but my magic doesn't seem to be working. Consider yourself lucky. And we don't really match, do we?"

"Oh, who cares?" John told her. "We can do whatever we want as long as we look good!" He paused. "Now, what do you mean that your magic isn't working?"

"How many other ways can I say 'My magic isn't working'?" Freya asked and tried to zap him. But nothing changed.

"Oh, my god," John said. "It's literally not working!"

"Why is this a surprise to you?" Freya cried. "I thought you planned for stuff like this to happen when you came up with this child to make me as docile as possible."

"Well, I didn't think it would turn out like this!" John cried, then reached out to catch her just as her leg disappeared and she fell forward. "The baby must have absorbed all your magic or something!"

"Gee, you think?" Freya asked, punching him in the nose as her leg reappeared. "What a good guess!"

They both clutched each other, panting, until her leg came back, and then he urged her to go eat something and take a shower before dressing while he went to supervise the people who were on their way to set the ballroom up.

* * *

"Okay," Malachai said a few hours later as he held Helene's hand and ushered Percy, Stephanie, and Jill into the ballroom. William would be coming later with Lucy and had told them to go on ahead without him.

"There's Kai," Helene remarked as she noticed him and Victoria standing near the snack table. "Interesting that my mother and James let him out to come to this."

"I bet they thought it would be a good way to trap him," Malachai remarked. They then went over to the pair and he asked his nephew, "Good food?"

"Good enough," Kai remarked. "Better than the music, anyway. That's why I'm not dancing." He paused and quickly moved to change subject as Victoria opened her mouth. "You two look nice."

"Thank you," Malachai remarked. They were both matching in white and black. Malachai's jacket was white with black lapels and a black pocket square and black buttons down the front, along with a black bow tie, and he wore black pants with it. Helene wore a white gown with a sweetheart neckline just like Freya's with a layer of black lace that covered the bodice and a portion of the skirt. "So do you." He smiled at the fact that Kai's light pink shirt and the light pink stripes in his tie matched Victoria's poofy light pink ball gown exactly. "You two match," he remarked. "Did you know that?"

"Yes," Kai narrowed his eyes. "You were lucky enough to get a woman whose color scheme it wouldn't kill you to match, but Victoria insisted I wear this horrible light pink. That's the other reason why I'm not dancing: to teach her a lesson about not making me wear stupid colors."

"Oh, you'll be dancing when there's slow music coming on," Victoria told him. "That's not too much to ask." They watched the kids dance until Freya and John made their way over to the table. "Are we enjoying ourselves?" he asked. "Why don't you go mingle?"

Freya then let out a gasp and turned into a mouse.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Kai asked.

"She's having trouble controlling her magic," John said as he ran off to catch scurrying creature. "It's better than when she was hopping around on one leg earlier cause the other had disappeared."

While John was working on catching Freya, Stephanie and Percy had gone off into a little corner of their own and were dancing by themselves. "You know, I really didn't have any idea of what to expect when you told me that you wanted me to come with you to a ball," Stephanie confessed as Percy twirled her around. "I didn't know what kind of dancer you were, or how you would take to wearing more formal clothes. But you rose to the occasion magnificently, if I may say." His tie, which was striped with various shades of purple and gray and paired with a gray suit jacket and pants, fit perfectly with Stephanie's dress, which was various shades of dark purple with some silver designs on the bodice, and had a wide skirt that looked like it had hidden hoops under it at one point, cause it had.

"Your dress is beautiful," Percy remarked. "I wasn't expecting you to wear something so old-fashioned."

"This is actually an old dress of my mother's, if you can believe it," Stephanie told him. "She had to remove the sleeves to make it what I wanted, and she was sure that her mother would kill her for it cause of all the expense it took to have this dress be made back in 1862, but she thought it would be worth it, and that it would be better for me to make use out of it then for it to just sit there getting dusty in her closet."

"Well, she did a good job," Percy complimented, taking her in his arms and kissing her. "And I'm sure your father approved cause the skirt itself is like protection for your body?"

"Yes," Stephanie smiled. "Don't tell me I have something to worry about on that score. I mean, it doesn't bother me if I do, but it'd be nice to get a warning ahead of time."

"No, I promised your father we wouldn't go any further than we have, so we're waiting from now on," Percy said and then backpedaled a little. "At least I'm pretty sure we are."

Stephanie sighed and looked over at Drew and Clarissa in their matching silver suit jacket and dress. The short dress was something she was sure Clarissa had chosen on purpose in an attempt to drive her brother crazy. He had a look on his face like he was trying to control himself, his hand spread out on Clarissa's back as he held her close against his body. She broke away from Percy for a moment to go and talk to her brother and friend.

"What brings you over here?" Drew asked and Clarissa smiled. Yep, such tight control in his voice.

"Nothing," she said. "I just wanted to make sure you were enjoying yourself. Having a fun time dancing and all. Doesn't Clarissa look nice in her dress?"

"Oh, yes," Drew said, and tried not to lock eyes with the amount of leg and thigh Clarissa's dress showed.

"Come on," Clarissa said and gave him a small push so that they were some distance apart and he was able to get a good look at her. "You can look you know, even if we're waiting for the other stuff."

"I don't know if he can," Stephanie told her. "All this tension is built up in him and if he looks, it's all just gonna go _kaboom!_ And he'll take you off to some secret corner and have his way with you because he just can't handle the buildup of feelings."

"Oh, you will?" Clarissa asked. "Well, come on, let's go, then!"

"I think we should stop dancing," Drew suggested and took Clarissa's arm. "Let's have a punch break."

"Fine," Clarissa sighed as Stephanie gave her a look of pity before going back to Percy. "Let's go have punch."

When they reached the punch table, they found Stefan and Samantha and Stefan in matching black, sharing cigarettes and smirking at everyone who was dancing around them. "That's a really pretty dress," Clarissa commented Samantha's off the shoulder black dress.

"Thanks," Samantha told her, and then pointed at a group of kids who were standing in the corner and looking a bit lost. "I've never seen them before. Who do you think they are?"

"No idea," Clarissa shrugged. "It would be weird if they were more of Malachai's kids, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Samantha replied and breathed out a plume of smoke. "It really would be."

The music changed and Stefan held out his hand to her. "I suppose I should dance one dance with you since we got all dressed up and came here. You wanna?"

"Sure," Samantha nodded and put her cigarette out. "Why not? But be prepared. I might step on your toes."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," he said and dipped her. "You're not the first inexperienced partner I've had."

Meanwhile, Davina was being taught by someone who wasn't nimble in the least. "Now are you sure you don't want me to lead?" She asked as he stepped on her toes for the third time. "Maybe we should sit this one out. Or find someone to talk to. Or at least let _me_ lead."

"But you don't know what you're doing," Thomas pointed out. "How would things be any better with you in the lead?"

"Well, at least no one would be getting hurt," Davina pointed out. She'd secretly had Amelia teach her some moves from both sides just in case something like this happened. "See?" She said as they began to move more easily across the floor. "I told you I would be a better leader."

"I told you I would be a better leader," Thomas mocked, hating Davina's sexy purple dress that gave him feelings as it clung to her body, and the matching tie he'd been forced to wear. Out of all the colors, why had she chosen _purple_? Why couldn't she have chosen a more masculine color, like green or something?

That was the exact same thing Lucien asked himself. He was wearing a hot pink sweater and tie underneath a black suit that matched Felicity's hot pink gown. The only thing good about this was that her dress had a long slit in it that gave him a great view of her long and sexy legs. That was the only good thing.

"Thank you for agreeing to go with pink." She told him, grabbing him and giving him a kiss. "That was very nice of you."

"You're welcome," Lucien huffed. "I won't be humiliated for long, will I?"

"There's beer over at the table," Felicity pointed. "Go have some."

"Thank you," he said and gave her a hug. "You're a wonderful girl, Kitten."

* * *

As Jill stood with her back against the wall and a drink in hand watching everyone dance, she let out a sigh. She knew she didn't _have_ to be a wallflower. If she'd wanted to, she could be out there dancing with everyone else. She looked down at her short dark blue dress that was off the shoulder on one side and had a sleeve on the other and a layer of lace on top, along with a black ribbon around the waist that was meant to be a belt. It was a beautiful dress and she just hated to waste it, but she didn't know who to dance with.

Suddenly though, the power went out and while everyone was panicking, shaft of light appeared near her and began to take the shape of a young man in black. He had wicked eyes and a wicked smile, and Jill could swear that he was motioning for her to follow him. "Did you do this?" She whispered and followed the figure. "Let's just see what you're up to." She followed the ghost far away from the ballroom and said, "Who are you?"

"I have no name," said a man's voice in Jill's head. She shivered as her body was overcome with cold. "Not yet, anyway.

"Why did you pull that trick with the lights?" She asked. "Why do you want to hurt everyone here?"

"I just want to tell my parents that I exist," the voice came in Jill's head again. "I'm strong enough now that I have control of mother's magic."

"Who's your mother?" Jill asked. "Is she here?"

"Freya," the voice whispered. "Freya Mikaelson. And John. I'm coming. I'm coming!" He then materialized in front of her and the voice said, "You're beautiful. I think I have to have you."

Then cold wrapped around her and she felt something on her cheek that seemed like a kiss before she fainted.

She was awakened what seemed like an eternity later. John and Freya were both leaning over her and asking if she was okay."

"Yes," she said as John helped her sit up. "I think I saw…I think I've met your son."


	43. The Ball: Part Two

"What do you mean you saw our son?" Freya asked and shook Jill gently. "How can you see him? He hasn't even been born yet!"

"Well, I saw him," Jill replied. "He says that with the power he took from you, he's strong enough to manifest himself in spirit form or something. I saw him and he talked to me. Said he wanted me."

"Is he handsome?" John asked. "Tell me he's good looking."

"John!" Freya cried, her voice full of disapproval. "Now is not the time to be asking questions like that. More important things are happening here!"

"You're right, you're right," John nodded. "But it wouldn't hurt her to answer the question."

"I suppose that he was good-looking," Jill acknowledged. "But he also seemed very evil, so it was kind of hard to appreciate his good looks."

"See, there you go," John told Freya. "Question asked and answered."

"Would you like to lie down?" Freya asked Jill as she helped the girl to her feet. "Or do you want to go back to the party?"

"Oh, I think I'll go lie down if that's all right with you," Jill told her. "I can find a room for myself. You both can get back to your guests."

"Are you sure?" Frey asked her. "Cause it really wouldn't be any trouble for us to help you find a place to rest."

"Would you tell my father where I've gone?" Jill asked. "That's really the only thing I think I need from you."

"All right," Freya promised. "We'll do it."

* * *

"This won't be as bad as you think," Damon told Annie as he pulled her into the ballroom. "If you don't want to dance, we can just spend time talking to anyone we can find." He peered at her sexy black dress. "But it would be a shame if no one saw how lovely you look."

Annie blushed. "Frankly I'm still at the point where I can't believe I even let _you_ see how lovely I look," she replied. "I don't even know why we came here. You know dancing isn't my thing."

"Oh, don't be silly," Damon told her. "You danced perfectly well all the times we've practiced. Pretend it's like that."

"But you know I can't do that because the situations are _not_ the same," Annie reminded him. "When you and I practice, it's just, you know…you and me. Now there are gazillions of people who are watching and I just don't like it. Let's go!" She tried to pull away, but when Damon saw John approaching, he pulled her back to him. "Host is coming," he whispered in her ear. "We have to say 'Hello'. We don't want to seem rude."

"Hello," Annie said and held out her hand to John. "Who are you and why in the hell did you invite me to a party where I had to dance in front of people and wear a fancy dress?"

"She means 'Thank you for having me 'and 'It's lovely to meet you'," Damon interpreted.

"Oh, I know she doesn't mean that, but I like honesty," John told him. "It's very refreshing. As for why you're here, I just wanted to get to know some people better."

"Yes, but why _me_?" Annie pressed. "I grew up on the street and have hardly known any of my family until now."

"I have my reasons," John told her firmly. "Let's just leave it there and not press anymore, shall we? The punch is lovely and I suggest you try some." He went on his way and Annie blew a raspberry at his retreating back. "I don't like him," she told Damon. "I don't trust him one bit."

"Well, that's really smart because he is literally one of the most powerful supernatural beings ever to exist," Damon told her as he led her onto the dance floor and gave a small wave as he caught his brother's eye over her shoulder. As Annie resisted dancing in front of people, they stumbled through the first dance and then Stefan and Samantha came over to them.

"What kept you guys?" Stefan asked. "I thought you weren't going to come."

"We weren't," Annie informed him. "I didn't really want to, but your brother said it would be a good idea not to offend our host, so I put on my dress and here I am."

"But you don't really seem prepared to have a good time," Samantha remarked.

"Of course not," Annie told her. "Why would I in a place like this full of people who are probably laughing at how stupid I look as we speak."

Stefan looked at her little black dress and then his brother's bright red tux jacket. "I'd be more concerned about my brother being laughed at than you," Stefan told her. "You look very nice."

"Thank you," Annie smiled.

"Yeah," Damon grumbled. "Thanks a lot, Stefan."

"Now that you've made it through your first dance, you want to get some punch?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, the guy who talked to us said that we should have some," Annie replied. "But you don't think it's poisoned or anything, do you? Am I the only one that picked up bad vibes from that guy?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry yet," Stefan assured her. "If he was going to kill you, he wouldn't do it in a public place with so many people around."

"So just be careful if he offers to talk to me in a secluded spot," Annie nodded. "All right." She then noticed that Helene and Malachai were nearby and quickly went to assure them that she'd arrived safely and after that she headed back to Damon.

A short while later, Jill appeared at her shoulder. "You're lucky you came late," she told her. "There was a bit of craziness earlier when the power went out."

"The power went out?" Annie frowned. "Why would it do that?"

"Cause the place is haunted," Jill said. "Well, sort of haunted. I don't know if you can call it a haunting when the ghost is someone who isn't even born."

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked her. "Are you crazy?"

"Nope," Samantha shook her head. "Just psychic. Remember, I told you she was." She huffed and pulled Stefan away. "My brother was supposed to show up. Let's see if he's here yet."

"Fine," Stefan cried. "But don't squeeze my hand so hard. It hurts!"

They left in search of Samantha's brother (which Stefan thought was stupid cause he didn't see Ian at all, but there was no use telling Samantha that,) leaving Jill with Annie and Damon.

"You want to tell me more about the ghost you saw?" Annie asked. She'd always found Jill's psychic abilities to be very interesting."

"He's of someone very, _very_ evil," Jill said in a hushed voice. "And I think…I think he's in love with me or something. Or at least wanting me for his own evil purposes." She shuddered. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Well if he ever tries to come at you, let me know and I'll punch him for you," Annie smiled. "It would be no trouble at all, really." She then winced and gave Damon a look. "Why did I let you convince me to wear heels with this dress? They're killing my feet!" She zapped on a pair of shiny silver and white sneakers and breathed a sigh of relief. "There, that's much better." Now that her feet no longer hurt, she was willing to go into dancing with much more enthusiasm, and at one point, they were so into it that she didn't even notice when everyone else in the room had stopped to watch them.

"Why did it suddenly get quiet?" She asked him as they danced.

"Never mind," he told her. "Just focus on your steps." Then, when the song ended, the room burst into applause and Annie blushed bright pink when she realized that the whole room had seen what she'd been doing.

"Oh, my god," she said. "Everyone saw!"

"Yeah, and they thought you were great!" Damon whispered. "And you have an admirer coming."

John came up to them and after giving Annie a slight bow asked if he could have a dance with her. "You don't have to worry," he assured her when she hesitated. "Freya's gone up to rest for a little while and that means I'm without a partner. I'll behave myself, I swear."

"All right," Annie replied, although every nerve in her body wanted to pull away. "But just one dance. I want to quit while I'm ahead. I already feel like I'm pushing my luck on the dance floor."

"No," John shook his head as the music started up again. "I don't think that's true at all."

* * *

Meanwhile, both Lucien and Felicity and Drew and Clarissa were sitting in the corner away from the crowd.

"I'm not dancing because I hate my stupid tux," Lucien told Drew. "What's your excuse?"

"He thinks I'm too sexy, so he won't dance with me," Clarissa told Lucien. "Isn't that silly?"

"No, I won't dance with you because every time we get close, you try to…stir me up," Drew got out. "It's not a hard thing to stop doing."

"If you want to dance, I'll dance with you," Lucien offered.

"But what about looking like an idiot in your tux?" Clarissa asked.

"Well, I'd do it for you," Lucien told her and gave her his most charming smile.

"I guess I can give you something in return then," she said and zapped his tux jacket to a more becoming gray. "That better?"

"Yep!" Lucien grinned broadly. "What are we standing here for? Let's go dance!"

They headed to the dance floor, leaving Drew alone with Felicity.

"You wanna dance?" Drew offered after a moment of silence.

"Thanks, but I don't really need to," Felicity told him. "You want a drink?"

"I don't do that," Drew told her. "But thank you."

"You're so polite!" Felicity smiled. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so…but I think my mom is your grandma," Drew told her.

"Astrid or Selina?" Felicity questioned, even though she knew in her gut that he was one of her Uncle Elijah's kids. Just looking at the way he wore his dress clothes told her that.

"Selina," Drew replied and Felicity nodded. "I thought so. Your tux gave you away as one of Uncle Elijah's kids."

Drew chuckled. "I hope you won't hold that against me," he told her.

"No, of course not, why would I?" Felicity asked.

"You look really nice in that dress," Drew told her. "Are you sure you don't wanna dance? Even for just a little bit?"

"All right," Felicity replied and stood up, letting him lead her onto the dance floor. "One dance would be lovely, thank you."


	44. The Dark Shadow

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?" The spirit asked Jill as everyone made their way out of the house. "And what's happening? Why is everyone running?"

"Cause your father is terrifying everyone," Jill replied. "Between him and you, it's a marvel that the party lasted as long as it did."

"Well, what a shame," he replied and pouted, his blue eyes sad. "We were having so much fun!"

"Your idea of fun is wrong," Jill replied. "And I'm lucky that I'm leaving and I won't have to deal with it anymore. I won't be seeing you again. You and I, whatever the hell you are, are done!"

"I don't think I want to be done," the spirit replied. "What's your name?"

"Nothing you're gonna know," Jill said and kept her eyes averted. Then, she felt herself be pushed against the wall, the young man and his eyes filling her entire sight. " _What's your name_?" He repeated through his teeth.

"Jill," Jill choked out. "What should I call you?"

"How should I know?" The young man asked. "Ask my mother. I'll be eager to find out myself, which means we'll be seeing each other again."

"Well, I know I'll be delaying that meeting as soon as possible," Jill replied. "I don't want to know your name _that_ badly. And how is it that you're causing me so much trouble when you're not even born yet?"

"I'm powerful," he smirked. "What can I say? And what I'm doing now…it's nothing. Just wait until I can actually breathe!"

"Oh, I can," Jill told him. "I'm glad I'll have years and years of time to figure out what to do before I have to see you again."

"Well," the young man reached out to play with her hair, a strange light in his eyes. "Maybe you will, maybe you won't. We'll see."

Jill stared at him and stepped back a little so his grip loosened. "I'm gonna go now," she told him. "Cause I'm tired of talking to you and I really just want to go home where I can be surrounded by people who actually make me feel _good_ and don't just suck the life out of me." She then flipped her hair, turned on her heel, and strode away just as the young man disappeared, his laughter still ringing in her ears.

"What happened at the ball?" Percy asked when Jill finally got home. "I noticed you were gone a lot. Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

Jill gave him a small smile. She was hesitant to tell the truth because, as she'd seen with Malachai and Helene, she figured that she knew what his reaction would be. Then she looked at her half-brother, who was one of the most loving people she'd ever met, and decided to take the risk. She needed an ally against the crazy demon boy and Percy could be just the person if she'd only ask him.

"I'll tell you the truth," she said in a hushed voice. "But you have to promise to keep an open mind, no matter how crazy what I say might sound."

"I swear I'll do that," Percy told her firmly.

"Let's talk in my room," Jill said. "It'll be better that way. If Malachai and Helene hear, they'll just stop the conversation and ask if I need to lie down. They don't believe me at all."

So they went to her room and when the door had been closed, she gestured for her dark-haired and dark-eyed brother to come sit next to her on the bed, and when he had, she whispered, "The reason why I was gone so much at the party was because I saw a ghost. And he took a liking to me and was following me around, and with that happening, he took all of my strength."

"A ghost?" Percy asked, feeling bad about being so involved with Stephanie that he didn't come and help her. "The place where the ball was held was _haunted_?"

"Not exactly," Jill shook her head and looked around her yellow painted room for inspiration regarding how she could best explain the situation. "He's not a ghost, not really. He can't be a ghost if he's a person who's not even born yet. His parents are Freya and John who hosted the party. And he's the boy in all those scary dreams I have that make me wake up screaming."

"If he's not born yet, how can you see him?" Percy asked. "Is that normal?"

"No, it's the first I've heard of it," Jill shook her head. "He's really powerful, I think. That's why Freya kept having all that trouble: the baby inside of her was absorbing her powers to somehow manifest himself outside her body. Don't ask me to explain anymore because I have no idea how. When it comes to that, I'm just as confused as you are." She paused. "So that's the story. Do you believe me, or do you think I'm crazy too?"

"I admit that it sounds like a crazy story," Percy said. "But I don't know why you would make something like that up. You're not the type to just make stuff up for attention and I don't know why Helene and Malachai, when they _know_ that you have the ability to tell the future, are brushing you off so quickly."

"In a way I don't blame them," Jill sighed and fell back on her pillow. "It's hard to believe something you don't see or experience yourself. It takes faith and trust and that's not something a lot of people have."

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point," Percy agreed. "But I believe you. I promise."

"I know," Jill said, sitting up and taking his hand. "Thank you so much. That means a lot to me."

* * *

"How was the ball?" Elijah asked Drew and Stephanie. "Was it fun?" He got a look of longing in his eyes. "I wish I could have gone."

"I'm glad I didn't have to," Selina got out. "I hate balls. They're so stupid."

"How can you think balls are stupid?" Elijah asked.

"Because they just are," Selina returned. "It's just a bunch of stupid people in stupid outfits dancing to stupid music and then stopping to make stupid conversation."

"Well, I think it's very narrow minded of you to say something like that," Elijah retorted. "You just let a couple of bad experiences-"

"A _couple_ of bad experiences?" Selina shouted. "Try every single fucking ball experience in my whole life which is a lot more than you would think!"

"Well, up until everything went wrong and the ghost caused all sorts of problems, it was fun," Drew quickly broke in, answering his father's question and ending his parents' argument. "I danced with your granddaughter Felicity, Mother. She's very skilled."

"Well, that's nice," Selina smiled, her attention averted, and a smile once again on her lips while Elijah glowered for a moment. "It's rare for people from both of my families to interact with each other." She paused. "What ghost?"

Stephanie shrugged. "No one knows, really. Only one girl saw it and apparently, it's a major nightmare."

"Oh, damn," Elijah shook his head. "We're already dealing with the Phoenix. We don't need any more trouble."

"Well, like I said," Drew told his father, trying to sound encouraging. "Only one girl saw the ghost, so maybe it's nothing we have to deal with. At least not for a while anyway."

"Let's just hope you're right," Elijah told him and then went back to eating his toast.

* * *

The doorbell rang the next day and as Helene got up to answer it, Jill ran in front of the door and blocked the way. "Don't answer it," she begged. "Please!"

"Why not?" Helene asked. "What the hell is the matter? Do you need to go lie down again?"

"No!" Jill shook her head. "I'm fine. And I'll _keep_ being fine as long as you don't let Freya into this house."

"Why shouldn't we?" Helene asked. "She might be coming to make peace!"

"Or she might be coming to cause trouble!" Jill pointed out. "And she's bringing her awful son with her!"

"I know you have issues, but I can't leave a pregnant woman standing on the front step," Helene told her and nudged her aside. "I'm sorry." She opened the door to let Freya in and Freya (and the ghost or whatever the hell he was) came in and gave Jill a smile.

The wicked curve of the young man's lips sent a chill down Jill's spine, but she was even more surprised when she saw Helene's eyes widen as she began to back away, her breathing quickening.

"What's the matter?" Freya asked.

"There's someone behind you," Helene told her. "A very evil-looking young man."

"What?" Freya asked and turned around as young man disappeared for a moment. "I don't see anything."

"That's the ghost I was trying to tell you about earlier," Jill told Helene. "You know, the one that you and Malachai thought I was making up?"

"Well, I'm very sorry," Helene apologized. "I know you're not making it up now." She quickly ushered Freya into a chair and then when they were all sitting down, Jill quickly asked, "What are you planning on naming your son, Freya?"

"John says he likes the name Christian and if the boy is going to be as evil as I think, that must be his idea of irony," Freya replied.

"Christian," Jill repeated emphatically as she caught the spirit's eye. "His name is Christian."

"Exactly," Freya nodded.

"And did you know that he's behind you right now?" Jill asked. "He's behind you and he's looking right at Helene and me. And the reason why you don't feel so well is that he's using your power and your energy to manifest himself to whoever will see him."

"Well, damn," Freya swore as she lay on Malachai and Helene's sofa and Helene brought her a cold wash cloth for her forehead. "That sure explains a lot. But here's what I don't get: if he's some sort of spirit, shouldn't I be able to see him? Witches and warlocks can, you know. And I still kept my powers even after I became a vampire."

"Well, actually, to be totally honest I don't know _what_ he is, other than being incredibly irritating and a pain in the ass," Jill told her. "But he seems to have some sort of twisted interest in me, so how about I take him away for a bit so you can have a chance to recover from what he's doing to you?"

"You don't have to do that if he's causing you trouble," Freya told her. "I've gotten through it so far. A little longer won't hurt."

Jill shook her head and strode up to the ghost. "You come with me," She ordered.

"Well, all right," Christian smirked. "Since you asked so nicely." He then began crowding behind her as they made their way to another room and when she wouldn't walk fast enough, he raised her up in the air and made her fly toward the first open door he saw.

"There we go," he said after he dropped her on her butt and slammed the door closed. "That's much better. Now we have privacy."

"Why won't you let your mother see you?" Jill asked him. "I think that would be nice."

"Nice?" Christian shook his head. "I don't have to be nice to her. She doesn't even want me! She doesn't _deserve_ to see me!"

"How do you know that?" Jill cried. "How do you know anything? You aren't even born!"

"Not technically, but in this form, I hear lots of things," Christian replied. "I see her telling Father all the time what a nuisance I am and how much pain and misery I cause her. That doesn't make me feel very loved."

"Well, you have to understand that pregnancy and childbirth are very taxing things for a woman to go through," Jill tried to explain. "Is it any wonder that on some days, she's not feeling well? Give her a break!"

"I'm not stupid," Christian glared at her. "I know all that stuff. But shouldn't it be her honor as my mother to go through all that misery to give me life? Shouldn't she be happy to do it because it means that she'll have a delightful child to look after?"

"Well, if that isn't just the most stupid, selfish thing I have ever heard!" Jill cried. "If she hates being pregnant, that's her right! She doesn't have to see it as some honor just because she's a woman! You are just so…" Not being able to find a strong enough adjective to finish her sentence, she just let out a scream.

"Everything all right in here?" Helene asked as she poked her head in. "Is the ghost causing trouble or are you in pain or what?"

"No, I'm fine I guess," Jill sighed, very relieved to see that Christian was gone. "But I feel sorry for Freya. Her son is gonna be a real ass."

Helene chuckled. "You know, that's exactly what she told me before she left. She must be starting to sense him like you do." She paused. "Or else she's just projecting her feelings onto the situation."

"Either one would be correct, I think," Jill told her and then pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "I think I'm gonna zap some ice cream up. You want some?"

"Sure," Helene nodded. "I wouldn't mind that at all."


	45. Making A Run For it

Jill was very relieved when for a few days, she heard nothing of Freya or Christian. Then, one night, she was getting ready to tuck herself into bed when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She went to open it and saw Percy on the other side. Smiling, she let him in, but quickly realized that there was something off about him: his posture was rigid, his expression was just…wicked, and he grabbed her and kissed her soundly. She pushed him away quickly and said, "Percy, what the hell is wrong with you? I'm your sister! And what about Stephanie?"

"Who?" He asked. "I don't know who that is. You're the one who's destined to tame me, Jill. I'm not stupid, I know that."

"Oh, damn," Jill groaned. "Christian? I thought you were gone!"

"Well, I'm not," he said in her ear and then quickly exited Percy's body, leaving him in a heap on the floor. "Miss me?"

"No," Jill said firmly and reached for the bat that she'd stored under her bed for situations such as this. Now, I would leave if I were you."

Christian just looked at her and her bad and laughed. "Do you honestly think that will hurt me?" He asked. "Go ahead and take a swing."

Jill did so and he disappeared so that the bat hit the wall, leaving a good sized hole, which she quickly patched up with her magic. She then swung at him two more times, and fixed the wall two more times, until Christian said, "Have you had enough yet? If I were you, I would be more worried about your little friend there. He's not looking too well."

Jill put the bat down on the bed and then went to kneel next to Percy, who was laid out on the floor, completely still. "What have you done to him?" She asked after turning him over on his back. "He's not dead, is he?"

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't," Christian told her. "I'm not going to be the one to tell you."

"What is it that you want from me?" Jill asked as she put Percy's head in her lap and tried to rouse him. "If there's something I can actually do for you, then tell me what it is. If you just came to cause trouble, then I would like you to go away."

"Well, we _all_ have things we would like," Christian told her as he began pacing around her room. "But that doesn't mean we'll get them, will we?"

"Can you at least tell me how you were able to possess Percy and come here?" Jill asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking so he wouldn't know she was frustrated and afraid. That would please him and making him happy was the last thing she wanted.

"I told you," he said and sat down on her bed. "I'm getting stronger thanks to my mother's magic. She can barely move anymore."

"You seem pleased about that," Jill told him, feeling sick to her stomach. If it was her job to reform him, she most definitely had her work cut out for. "How could you? She's your _mother._ "

Christian sighed irritably and looked up at the ceiling. "Didn't we already fight about my thoughts on this before? You won't hear anything that you'll like."

"Well, I'm just saying that if you want love and regard from your mother, it wouldn't hurt you to show her some in return," Jill replied. "That's all I'm saying."

"And how many times do I have to remind _you_ that you're arguing with a person who isn't born yet?" Christian asked, sounding thoroughly irritated. "Even if I wanted to show my mother any sort of mercy, I can't at the moment." He knocked her on the head and she winced. "Get it? Or do I need to repeat myself a few more times?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "I got it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to help my brother so that he doesn't die because of what you did to him."

"But I did it to see _you_!" Christian told her. "I knew you wouldn't let me in otherwise, and it would have been less fun if I had just barged in and you would have been mad from the beginning. You should be flattered."

"Oh, fuck off," Jill told him as she did the best she could to take Percy to Helene and Malachai's room so they could fix him up.

* * *

"So tell me again what happened? The first time you explained it, I was half asleep. We both were." Helene asked Jill over breakfast. Percy was resting in his bed and seemed to have gotten through what had been done to him with fewer consequences than Christian had led Jill to believe there would be.

"Christian, you know, the ghost who has expressed interest in me or whatever…I thought I was rid of him, but last night, he possessed Percy to gain entrance into my room," Jill explained to her and Malachai. "I thought he couldn't do anything unless Freya was near, but he says he's getting stronger. Strong enough that he can move about without being tethered to Freya. It's a good thing we have Percy in bed now and that he wasn't hurt as badly as he could have been." She looked at Malachai. "Just how strong of a warlock are you? You think you could put a protection spell on Percy or something? Could either of you? Or would you have to go to Astrid for that?"

"I'll go to the Council and talk to my mother," Helene promised. "I don't know how busy she'll be so someone else might have to handle it, but it'll get done."

"Good," Jill sighed with relief. "All of this is happening because of me. Because of _my_ destiny to stop this crazy guy who's eventually gonna kill everyone if I don't do anything. He started with Percy. Who knows how many more people will have to experience stuff like this? Maybe I should just go live in a cave away from everyone. Then no one else will get hurt."

"I know it seems bad now, but I don't think we'll have to go that far," Malachai told her. "We'll get it all figured out."

"Thanks, but with all the trouble you have yourself, you don't have to take time to help me with mine,"

"You don't have to worry about _my_ problems," Malachai assured her. "I have help with those. You don't. Let us help you, please."

"All right," Jill nodded. "I don't know how much good you'll actually be able to do, but thank you for trying."

* * *

The next day, Helene went to Klaus' house to talk to Amy over the lunch hour. "You're still assisting my mother at work, aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes," Amy nodded. "Among other things. Please tell me you have some news that will give me something to do with myself. We've just been in this tense atmosphere while we wait for something to happen and so far, nothing has and it's freaking everyone out."

"Well you're in luck and so am I!" Helene told her. "The reason why John hasn't made any big moves is that he's got something much worse in the works and I know exactly what it is."

"And what's that?" Amy asked.

"He's made Klaus' sister Freya the mother of his incredibly powerful child," Helene explained. "I don't know particularly what species he is, though. Maybe he's more than one, just like the Mikaelson descendants. But apparently, Malachai's daughter Jill is gonna be destined to defeat him or reform him or whatever and since she lives with us, we get a front row seat to all the shenanigans."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "When you say the child is powerful, how powerful are we talking?"

"Well, he's not even born yet and apparently, he has the ability to use Freya's magic to help himself manifest into a spirit-like form that whoever he wants to see him can see," Helene explained. "I've seen him. He's a good-looking young man but also very evil."

"Well, that's no surprise," Amy sighed. "I think we definitely need to tell Astrid about this. And I'll let Klaus know too." She paused. "Do we need to do something for poor Jill?"

"We could, but I honestly have no idea what that would be," Helene replied. "She says he seems very determined to seek her out, and has even injured Percy in pursuit of her. She's talking about holing up somewhere by herself until all this mess is over so that no one else will be hurt, but I just don't think that's practical."

"I don't think it is either," Amy replied. "And once we tell your mother, I'm sure we'll have a better way to help her out. But we can only do so much. Hopefully Freya will be able to do something to help herself too."

"Well, hello, Helene!" Klaus greeted as she and Amy got their coats and were preparing to head to her car. "What brings you here?"

"She has info on the next steps of the Phoenix's plan," Amy informed him. "And we're just about to go tell my mother."

"Ah, yes," Klaus nodded. "John kidnapping most of Malachai's coven children so the world's chances of being saved from whatever he has planned are lessened."

"What?" Amy asked. "I didn't know about that part. We were thinking about the baby your sister is carrying and how it's powerful enough to cause Malachai's daughter Jill all sorts of grief."

Klaus chuckled. "John's been very busy apparently, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has," Amy nodded. "But at least we know it all and he won't get away with it. You go plot with Elijah while we go tell Astrid, okay?"

"Yes, all right," Klaus sighted and went to call his brother. "Although I have no idea what we can actually _do_ now."

* * *

As Christian continued to grow, Freya became more and more powerless, but ironically, the more powerless she became, the more determined she was to take control of her own destiny instead of just lying back and letting John dictate everything she did. While she still had many misgivings about the child growing in her at what seemed to be an astonishing rate, she decided that maybe if she raised him away from his crazy father, he might not grow up to be so bad after all. With that decision made, she managed to hoist herself out of bed one day and began packing clothes in a suitcase while plotting a way to get out of John's house so she could go hide out with one of her parents until the baby was born.

It was all going well until, on the night that she was to leave, Christian decided to ruin things for her by making a lot of noise so that his father awoke and came upon her just as she was trying to get her bags out the door.

"Where in the hell do you think you're going?" He asked her as he blocked the door.

"I'm leaving you," she said firmly. "I don't think our son should be raised around you. He's troublesome enough as it is and you'll only make it all worse."

"And where will you go once you leave here?" He asked her, putting restraining hands on her shoulders. "To your family? How are they any better than I am?"

"They treat me well," Freya told him. "That's the difference."

"You still think they'll treat you well after you turned on them for your own glory and are carrying my child?" John scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"No matter how badly they treat me," Freya told him firmly, "It will be a thousand times better than being your tool. Now let me go."

"Or what?" He asked her. "Freya, my darling, you are virtually powerless. If I wanted to stop you, I could and you'd have no real way of fighting back."

"Are you planning to stop me?" Freya asked.

"I could, but since I know you'll just be coming back to me, I figure that it wouldn't hurt you to give you a head start," John told her. "I want you to realize that I'm not the monster you think I am."

"Oh, you are," Freya replied and pushed her bags out the door before slamming it behind him and taking his car while trying not to think of what John had said: that even if she _did_ show up on her father's front step, the family might not take her in because she'd been disloyal and loyalty was something her father prized above all other virtues.

But she didn't have any other choice. She started the car as John stared at her from the window and drove away, praying the whole time that her father would let her in when she arrived on his and Gwen's front doorstep.

* * *

"Freya?" Mikael got out when he opened the door and saw her standing there. "My dear, what in the world?"

"I…I left him," she said and threw herself in her father's arms. "I just…I couldn't live with him anymore. This child he's having me carry-" she then began to feel as if her stomach were twisting and ripping apart. She started to scream and then fell limp in her father's grip.

"Mikael?" Gwen called. "What in the hell was that?"

"It's Freya," Mikael explained as he brought his unconscious daughter into the house and wondered where the best place to put her would be. His focus was almost entirely on Freya, but he couldn't miss the reflection of the wicked looking young man that joined his and Freya's as he passed the hall mirror. But when he turned around to look behind him, there was no one else there.


	46. Baiting The Hook

"Freya! Freya!"

She heard her name being called as her eyes opened, but the figure bent over her was blurry and she was in a painful haze, so her first thought was that it was John who wanted her so badly. Forgetting for a moment where she was, she threw a punch and then felt herself be shaken.

"Freya, it's all right!" The voice continued. "You're safe." She blinked a few times and saw Mikael come into focus.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I thought- I thought you were-"

"I know who you thought I was," Mikael told her and pulled her against himself and called Gwen to bring her another blanket. "But he's not here, and he never will be if I have any say in the matter."

"Thank you for taking me in," Freya told him. "After all I've done, I was sure you wouldn't."

Mikael sighed. "I think I've gotten soft as the years have gone by," he said. "If I still talk to Elijah after he married the woman he married, I think you're safe."

"Speaking of, did I manage to kill her?" Freya asked hopefully, the change in subject making her forget her pain for a moment as Gwen brought the blanket, threw it over her, and tucked it in so she was bundled tight before going off to read for a bit.

"No," Mikael sighed. "She's still alive, unfortunately." He paused. "I know I dislike her because she made me look like a fool, but why do you hate her? Because of Alexander? You never did like anyone who showed interest in him."

"Well, it's because his taste in friends and lovers was always lousy," Freya said. "And that girl was no exception. Alexander invited me to dinner with them a few times in the ten years they were married and every time I was there, she drank like a fish, swore like a sailor, and just generally ignored him. She wasn't good wife material."

"Yes," Mikael sighed. "That sounds like her."

"And to top it all off, she made him play at being human," Freya continued, feeling indignation rise up as the memories came back. "One of the first things that Alexander told me when I came to visit him and meet his new wife was that I wasn't supposed to say anything about him being a vampire, and I wasn't supposed to say that I was one either."

"Well, for all we know, that could have been your brother's choice," Mikael reminded her. "He didn't go into vampirism as enthusiastically as the rest of us."

"And how was he supposed to adjust if she just enabled him like that?" Freya asked irritably. "I hate her so much and if I wasn't so pregnant I would not hesitate to kill her."

"Yes, I know you would," Mikael nodded. "Now, to get your mind on a different subject because we know that one will never go anywhere, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Freya nodded. "What is it?"

"When I brought you in here, I passed the hall mirror and saw a young man's reflection with ours, but there was no one near me who looked like him," Mikael told her. "Would you know who it might be by any chance?"

"Did he look totally and completely _evil_?" Freya asked.

"Yes," Mikael nodded. "I'd have to say that he did."

"That's Christian," Freya sighed. "The parasite that's growing inside of me now, and your future grandson. He likes to follow me around and is using my powers to assume spirit form."

"My god," Mikael gasped.

Christian didn't like being called a parasite, so he immediately began choking his mother until she cried out, "Stop! I'm sorry!" Then he let her go and she fell back onto the pillow as he disappeared because he had better things to do than be insulted by a woman who would probably never love him anyway.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Elijah smiled as he opened the door to Selina's knock that just meant she wanted to talk (as opposed to the knock that meant she wanted to go to bed with him and was checking to see if he was too busy or available.) "You look nice." He'd just ended a call with Klaus, who was letting him in on all the latest developments of the Phoenix problem. This made his body be full of tension and he hoped that his wife was in the mood to help him relieve it.

Selina was wearing a sparkly blue dress that fell to just below her knees and a pair of white kitten heels. "Thank you," She smiled. "Are you busy? I have a surprise for you."

"Do we have dinner reservations I forgot about?" Elijah asked as he got up and followed her out of the room.

"No," Selina shook her head. "Don't ask questions. Just go with me on this."

When they reached the library and went inside, Elijah noticed that the lights were low and there was soft music playing.

"What's all this for?" He asked as he looked around.

"I know you were upset about missing that ball," Selina replied. "So…you wanna dance with me?"

Elijah chuckled as they began dancing to the music. "I thought you said balls were stupid."

"They are," Selina replied. "Unless I like the person I'm dancing with. And that's definitely the case here. I'm sorry I snapped at you about that earlier."

"Well, I should hope you like me since we've been married so long," Elijah told her as he pulled her tight against him and inhaled the rose scent of her hair. "And it's okay. I forgive you. I know that when you get reminded of your human life, you get uptight. I should have remembered that.

She chuckled. "You have a very good point regarding why I've been married to you so long," she said and giggled as he twirled her. The song ended and the next one started as they continued to dance. "So does this make up for missing the ball?" She asked.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "It does. When you knocked, I was hoping you would come with a way to relieve my mind. I just finished a conversation with Niklaus where he informed me of the latest Phoenix developments."

"Oh," Selina sucked in her breath, her large blue eyes troubled. "That bad, huh?"

"For us, it's not as bad as it could be," Elijah admitted. "At least not for the time being, anyway. Remember when Stephanie was talking to us about the ball and she said something about a girl seeing a ghost that no one else could see?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "What about it?"

"That spirit is a manifestation of the child my sister Freya is carrying," Elijah told her. "The one that was fathered by the Phoenix. Apparently, he'll be a very powerful individual if he can do that before he's even born."

Selina cleared her throat. "And that's probably no picnic for your sister, either. I actually feel sorry for her, despite all she's done to me." She paused. "So do we really not have anything to worry about until the child is born?"

"I would say that," Elijah agreed. "And even then, the girl who saw the spirit, someone named Jill, she's the one who will be dealing with him. Occupying his attention until Malachai McCullough and some others can rescue the coven children that the Phoenix kidnapped and even the playing field again."

"Well, that sounds like a plan," Selina told him. "I hope they all get out of it all right. Especially since one of the people going with Malachai to rescue the other coven children is my great-grandson Sean Junior, one of Adrian's grandkids. Sarah's carrying his child at the moment and she's really upset that she's not allowed to come too."

"Have your father's feelings about that situation improved any?" Elijah asked curiously.

"Well, he's still not happy about it," Selina admitted. "But Christine's working with him. And I think that his anger over the pregnancy has turned into worry for what could happen to her because of John, so that must be a relief for Christine."

Elijah paused dancing and said, "You know, I had no idea about any of this. I think I'll go call her and see if there's anything I can do."

"All right," Selina nodded. "That's a good idea." She pointed to a bottle of wine and two glasses on nearby table. "You want a drink first?"

"Well, since you went to all the trouble, I suppose one wouldn't hurt," he said and poured them both a glass. "Thanks for the dances. This was nice."

"You're welcome," Selina said and kissed him. "You know I love you very much and I just want you to be happy."

"Oh, I am," Elijah assured her. "There's no need to worry about that."

* * *

"So what we're dealing with is two-fold," Astrid got out as she and Alistair sat on Amy and Klaus' couch. "On the one hand, John has kidnapped a bunch of people who could be instrumental in defeating him. And on the other, Klaus, he also has your sister, who is pregnant with his child that is now powerful enough to appear in some spirit form to Malachai's daughter Jill."

"Yes," Amy got out. "And don't forget that Jill also believes she is destined to be the one to defeat the boy."

"Right," Astrid nodded and ran her fingers through her blonde hair as Alistair rubbed her shoulders. "We know the problem, and now I have to figure out what to do about it, don't I?"

"Yes, but we'll help," Alistair told her and kissed her hair. "Don't worry."

Astrid smiled and hugged him exuberantly before letting him go and clearing her throat. "I have a possible idea to help with the issue of the son."

"What?" Amy asked.

"Helene might not like it, but…if the spirit or whatever it is has a fondness for Jill, maybe we can use her to keep him occupied," Astrid put forth. "Maybe get someone who's willing to let him use them as a vessel and then Jill can occupy him until we deal with the kidnapping of the other children. Do you think she'll go for that?"

"It might take some convincing," Amy said. "But I'm sure that when Helene finds out it's probably the only way to deal with this, she'll get Jill to come around. Or at least I hope so."

"I do too," Astrid nodded. "I hate using people as bait like this."

"You're doing the best you can," Alistair told her as she cuddled up with him again. "No one can fault you for that."

"I wish that was as easy for me to believe as it is for you to say," Astrid replied. "I really do."

* * *

"You want me to _what?_ " Jill got out when Helene told her of the plan that Astrid had come up with to keep Christian in line. "No, I'm not gonna do that! Do you have any idea what a pain in the butt that guy is?"

"But you'd be helping the Council out a lot," Helene tried to reason with her. "And they'll probably give you a reward for it in the end."

"All the rewards in the world won't make up for all the time I have to spend with him," Jill sighed. "But I suppose this is just the beginning of my destiny, isn't it? So what the hell?"

"Thank you!" Helene replied and hugged her. "Mom will be so pleased!"

When she was gone, that was when Christian appeared. "Looks like you and I are going to get to be very good friends for a while, aren't we?" He asked, coming over to play with her hair. "Sure I know this is all a trap, and it takes away from all the trouble I could be causing, which is no fun, but…" he let out a breath and ran his hands down Jill's body, making her shiver and feel tingles all over. "But I suppose you're worth it."

"Thanks for the compliment," Jill told him and narrowed her eyes. "And don't look so smug. I'm not doing this because I like you or anything. I just don't want you to cause more trouble than you already have."

Christian smirked. "Well, aren't you the most adorable little martyr I've ever seen?" He asked and pinched her cheek.

"Shut up!" Jill said through her teeth, rubbing her face. "And don't pinch me!"

"I hear you're supposed to occupy me," Christian continued. "How is it that you plan to do that? I'm very eager to know. Maybe this?"

Jill let out a shriek when she realized she was standing in front of him in her underwear. "Damn it give me back my clothes!" She shrieked.

Her pants and top floated before her, but when she tried to grab them, Christian took them just out of her reach, making her run around and jump to reach what she wanted. "I hope you're enjoying yourself, you son of a bitch!" She cried.

"Now, now," Christian clicked his tongue. "That's really no way to talk about my mother. It seems like you have less regard for her than I do."

"Give me my clothes!" She yelled. "Now!"

Christian sighed. "I suppose I'm not being very fair, am I?" He asked and floated down to the floor. "I should even the playing field a bit, shouldn't I?"

"I don't know what that means, and I don't want know…oh, my god!" Jill screamed and covered her eyes two seconds after realizing he was standing naked before her. "Do whatever you have to do to make it look like you're wearing clothes again, please!" She begged.

But he didn't. Instead, he came to pull her hands off her eyes and smirked at her. "Go ahead and look," he insisted. "I'm not shy."

Just to humor him, she looked, and then, to make it clear that she still hated him. She aimed a good hard slap in his direction, which of course made him disappear.

Once he was gone, her clothes fell to the floor and she picked them up, put them on, and ran to her room, collapsing on her bed and trying to get a breath.


	47. Son Of The Phoenix

"Daddy!" Freya cried one early one morning as she pounded on Mikael and Gwen's bedroom door while on her knees cause she was in so much pain. "Daddy, help!"

Mikael got up and ran to the bedroom door, finding Freya on the ground, her stomach much larger than it had been when she'd gone to bed the night before. "What in the hell?" He breathed. "What's happening to you?"

"I-I don't know! I think the baby is coming!" Freya told him. "Make the pain stop! Please just make it stop!"

Mikael and Gwen helped Freya to bed, and just as they tucked her in, they heard a knock at the door. "Just hang on," Mikael told his daughter. "We'll get this taken care of. I promise."

They went to answer the door and found a man looking worried on the other side. His clothes were rumpled and he looked tired. "Let me in," he said. "I need to see Freya!"

"Are you John?" Gwen asked, standing in front of Mikael so that he wouldn't do anything dumb and get himself hurt.

"Yes," John replied. "Is Freya in labor with our child?"

"She is," Mikael snapped. "And you're not going near her. You've caused her enough trouble already."

"If you want your daughter to survive the delivery, you have to let me in to save her," John told him. "Unless you'd rather she just die because you're too stubborn to accept my help? I created the child she's carrying. I know how powerful he is. She can't do this alone or with someone who has no idea what they're doing."

"Let him in," Gwen told her husband. "I know you hate him. And frankly, I do too. But do you want to risk losing her? You'll hate yourself more than you hate him if she dies."

"Thank you," John told her and stepped in the house.

"I didn't do it for you," Gwen told him firmly.

As Freya's screams rang through the house, the three of them made a run for the bedroom.

"How are you feeling?" Mikael asked.

"I feel like shit!" Freya cried. "How would you feel if you were in my position?" She then let out a stream of swears when she saw John at her bedside. "Fuck him! You get that damn fucking son of a bitch out of this damn room!"

"He says you won't survive the delivery unless he helps you," Gwen replied.

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Freya muttered and spat at John before letting out another scream.

Finally, John pushed Mikael aside and put his hands on Freya's pulsating belly and then she felt the pain in her whole body lessen. "How do you feel?" He asked her. "Tell me honestly. Better?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "How the hell are you doing that?"

"When I created this child, but before I found you to give it life, I made sure that it would respond mainly to my touch and my magic," John explained. "Having contact with my magic is calming it down and will make delivery much easier for you. Give me your hand."

"No," Freya shook her head. 'I don't care how much pain it will cause me. I'm not touching you."

John turned to face Mikael and told him irritably, "Talk some sense into your daughter, please! Make her listen to me!"

"I don't know how easy that will be," Mikael told him. "But Freya, do you really want to be in pain when there's a way to avoid it?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "Cause it will give me the incentive I need to really kick his ass later!" But eventually, the pain became so bad that she DID take his hand, squeezing so hard that she heard his knuckles crack.

"Damn it!" He swore. "That hurt."

"Oh, don't be such a big baby!" Freya yelled. " _I'm_ the one who's really suffering here!"

She labored for what seemed like hours, and Gwen began to worry when she saw that Freya was bleeding. "Do we need to operate?" She asked John worriedly. "Bleeding can't be good."

"She's doing all right," John assured her. "Just be patient."

"How much longer do I have to go through this?" Freya asked and then threw up. "I'm so dizzy!" She fell back onto the pillow and her eyes closed, mercifully shielding her from the pain of the actual delivery, which John took care of.

When Freya came back to consciousness and saw the small, cocoon-shaped object she'd delivered, she scoffed. " _That_ caused me so much pain?" She asked. "And so much misery? But that's nothing!"

"The boy's not done growing yet," John told her, cradling the object tenderly. "If he waited until he was fully grown, he wouldn't have fit through the birth canal."

"So what do we do now?" Gwen asked. "Stick it somewhere and wait for the boy to finish growing? If that's the case, put it in the basement. That way I won't have to look at it."

It was then that John saw the spirit form of his son. "There's not too much longer, is there?" Christian asked.

"No," John shook his head. "Anything else you need before you emerge?"

"Call a girl named Jill," Christian requested. "I want her to be here when I emerge. I can't wait to see the look on her face when we finally meet for real."

* * *

"Hello," Gwen greeted Jill and invited her inside. It had taken them some time to find her since Christian had not been specific about her whereabouts, so the fact that they'd gotten the right girl was something of a miracle. "Thank you so much for coming."

"It's not a problem but…what is it that you wanted me for?" Jill asked.

"I can't explain it any better than what I'm about to tell you," Gwen replied. "But the spirit of the child that Freya bore asked for you. He…he was born a bit early, see, because he's too large to be in his mother any longer." She led Jill down to the basement and gasped at the large white cocoon that sat in one of the corners. "My god," she breathed and nearly fainted. "It was nowhere _near_ that big when John pulled it out of Freya." She turned to face Jill and explain what it was. "According to John, his son will finish developing there and emerge when he's ready and he wanted you to be waiting for him when he did."

Jill scoffed. "Of course he did, that bastard," she said, narrowing her eyes and then going to give the cocoon a swift kick. It made no mark in it, but a few minutes later, it began to crack.

"Oh, my god," Gwen said. "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Jill said. "I...I have no idea…"

Gwen left then, just as the crack got big enough to allow a tall young man room to exit. And he did, emerging naked and gooey, then coming over to hug her. "Hello, Jill," he said as she tried not to think of the goo on her body. "We finally meet face to face at last. You really _are_ beautiful. You know that?"

"Thank you for the compliment," she told him dryly and pushed him away. "Why don't you get cleaned up? You look gross."

"Well, I was just born, wasn't I?" Christian reminded her, forcefully grabbing her chin so that she had to look him in the eye. "Cut me some slack." He smiled. "I'm really glad we finally get to meet face to face, Jill."

"Yes, I'm sure you are," Jill told him, trying to keep her eyes on his face and not let them wander to other parts of him. "Cause now you can be a pain in the ass to me in person."

"Yeah," Christian smiled. "It'll be a lot of fun, I promise." He then put his arms around her and pulled her to him while his hands slid down to her butt. She barely let this go on before she gave him a good hard slap and zapped some clothes on him: a big thick sweater with kittens on it, cargo pants, and sneakers.

"There," she said smugly. "Now you're covered up."

"I don't think I like this," he said and changed the sweater for a navy blue t-shirt and jacket. "There," he said. "Much better." He then turned to face her, grabbing her again and nibbling on her neck. "I hope you don't mind, but I have to step away for a little bit and go see my father." He scooped up the extra blood with his pointer finger and licked it off, then gave her a kiss on the cheek and she shivered as his cold lips made contact with her skin. "I won't keep you waiting long. I promise."

"No, take your time," she said and rubbed her cheek before zapping up a towel to stop the bleeding on her neck. "I don't mind, really."

Christian left her then and went upstairs in search of his parents. "Mother? Father?" He called. "Where are you?"

"Christian?" John called back. "Is that you?"

Christian followed the sound of his voice and opened the door to the bedroom where his parents were. "Hello," he said. "I'm your son."

"Of course you are," John said and came over to hug him. "I'm very excited to meet you." They then looked at Freya. "Aren't you happy to meet our son?" John asked her. He helped her sit up so Freya could get a good look at him and she said, "Well, I'm glad that he's not inside of me anymore. I can't wait to see what havoc he'll wreak now."

"I thought you said you were bringing him here in an attempt to curb my bad influence," John told her.

"Yes, that's my plan," Freya nodded. "But if he doesn't want to be reformed, then whatever I try and do won't have any effect." Then she began to choke.

"That's not very nice, Mother," Christian said. "I could be a good boy if I want. But if you're already expecting the worst of me, why should I bother?"

"No!" John said firmly and broke Christian's eye contact which interrupted his spell and allowed Freya to breathe again. "You don't hurt your mother that way."

"And what will you do to me if I don't listen?" Christian asked. "You heard her; she doesn't think I'll ever be good."

"Then prove her wrong," John replied. "Show her you can be. Don't tell her she's right."

Christian chuckled. "Oh, this is cute," he said. "You expect me to say 'How high?' just because you say 'Jump'? You realize how powerful I am, don't you?"

"I think I should," John told him. "I created you, after all."

"I'm not going to be your puppet," Christian told him firmly. "I'm going to do what I want and if you don't like it, that's not my problem." He strode out of the room then, looking for Jill, but he didn't find her because she'd wisely run home the second he'd left to go talk to John and it would take a LONG time (if ever) before she chose to see him again.

* * *

That night, as Jill struggled to get some rest, two women appeared at her bedside: one was blonde, the other red-headed. "Who are you?" She asked. "What can I do for you? Is there anyone I need to talk to for you so you can rest in peace?"

"Actually, we came to help _you_ ," said the blonde, who came to sit next to her on the bed. "We're John's sisters. I'm Hazel, and that's Ena."

"Oh, can't you call me Vanessa?" The redhead snapped. "I don't like being called Ena. And since I created vampires, the least you could do is give me the respect I deserve by calling me the name I want to be called."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "All right," she said. "I'm Hazel and this is Vanessa. Like I said, we're John's sisters and we hear that you're having some trouble with him."

"Not with _him_ , necessarily," Jill shook her head. "His son, Christian. Apparently, he's super evil and I'm the one who's supposed to save everyone from the trouble he's going to cause, perhaps at the cost of my own life."

"And you're not just going to sit back and take it, are you?" Vanessa asked. "Please tell me you're not one of those people who's long-suffering, surrenders to fate, and doesn't do a damn thing about it?"

"Well, what can I do?" Jill asked. "I can't very well leave a bunch of innocent people at Christian's mercy, can I?"

"What is he planning to do?" Hazel asked. "What would happen if you _did_ leave everyone at his mercy?"

"Everyone would die," Jill told them. "All the vampires for sure, and maybe he's going after werewolves and witches too so he can start all over with his descendants and have control over humans. I'm not sure about that, though."

"Well, it's a damn good thing we got involved, then," Vanessa replied, her hands on her hips. "We didn't do all that work to create new species just to have them destroyed by our upstart little brother. And we can't forget to call Enid. If the werewolves are in danger, I'm sure she'll want to look after her people."

"So you'll help me with him, then?" Jill asked. "Thank you. I need all the help I can get."

"Oh, we know," Vanessa nodded. "Why do you think we came in the first place?"


	48. Another Son's Problem

"Why the hell did you leave me?" Christian asked as he pulled Jill's sheets off in the morning. She let out a shriek and struggled to cover herself up. "Do you mind?" She asked. "You're not a ghost anymore. How the hell did you get here?"

"I zapped myself," Christian explained. "Did you know you can use magic to zap yourself from place to place? Sure beats walking. Now, answer my question."

"I left because you said you wanted to see your father," Jill reminded him. "You didn't expect for me to wait around until you were done, did you?"

"Yes," Christian nodded. "I did. You're lucky I didn't come and steal you back." A light lit in his eyes. "I might do that next time."

"Oh, I'll be waiting for that," Jill rolled her eyes and then gave his hand a slap as he pulled her blankets away and ran his hand over her bare leg. "Don't do that."

"Why?" He asked. "Don't you like it?"

"No!" Jill shook her head and pushed him away before hopping out of bed. "Don't touch me. Now, did you come here for a reason, or was it just to be a pain in my butt?"

"I came to tell you that I was upset that you left me," Christian said.

"And you did that, so you can leave now," Jill told him. "Goodbye."

Of course he refused to go and that's when she zapped some clothes on (a red shirt with bell sleeves and a pair of jeans and silver flats) and called for his aunts, so they could have a look at him.

"That's _him_?" Vanessa said as she pushed some of her red hair out of her eyes. "Lucky for him, he looks nothing like John at all. He must have a really pretty mother." They both began circling him and playing with his shirt and making all kinds of noise.

"What's going on?" Christian asked, his eyes narrowed. He couldn't see them at all, so naturally, he was curious. "Are you doing that? Whose voices are those?"

"No," Jill smiled. "Your aunts."

Christian raised an eyebrow. "I have aunts? Really?"

"Yeah, your dad's sisters," Jill nodded. "And they think you're lucky to not look like him."

"I know, I heard," Christian replied.

"He did?" Jill asked Hazel. "How could he hear you?"

"Cause we haven't set things so he can't," Hazel replied. "We set it so he can't see us, but he can still hear us."

"Ah," Jill nodded. "Okay."

"So what are they doing here?" Christian asked. "They're not part of some plot to get rid of me, are they?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "I've taken that burden on myself."

"Oh, really!" Christian pouted. "I wish you wouldn't talk like that. It won't be horrible to be with me."

"Really?" Jill questioned. "What benefits would I have in our relationship?"

"Well," Christian smiled and came to take her in his arms. "You'd get to be with a very handsome man. Plus you already know that you'd be helping humanity. So I don't see any downside."

"Of course you don't," Jill huffed. "And of course you think that I have to skip around and be happy. But I'm not. Give me one good reason why I should actually enjoy this."

As she expected, he pulled him close against him and kissed her, a long and deep kiss, as if he wanted to make sure she had to admit she would like it. And as much as she wanted to resist, she had to admit there were tingles shooting all over her body and she felt herself becoming warm. When he finally let her go, she felt dazed and dizzy. "What the hell was that?" She got out.

"That was good, wasn't it?" Christian smiled.

"How the hell do you know how to kiss?" Jill cried. "You were born yesterday!"

"I know many things," Christian told her as he played with her hair. "And I can't wait to show them to you."

Jill shivered a little as he leaned in to give the skin at her neck a sniff. "You smell good," he told her. "What soap do you use?"

Instead of answering him, Jill moved away and said, "Do you know about something called personal space? You're in mine! Get out! Go see your parents. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to see you."

"No, I don't think they won't," Christian told her. "They're having the talk about why I was born this age instead of just coming out a baby, and that was something they didn't want me to be there for. They're probably still talking right now."

"And the only way you could think of to entertain yourself was to come and bother me?" Jill questioned.

"Well, who else do I know besides them and you?" Christian shot back. "Think about that."

"Okay," Jill sighed. "I suppose you have a point. But will you go now?"

"First you have to admit that you like me," Christian pressed. "Admit that you felt things when you kissed me and then I'll leave!"

"No!" Jill shook her head and turned her face away. "Just leave!"

"Fine!" Christian pouted and disappeared, making sure he broke all her windows on the way out.

* * *

"I'm starting to feel guilty about our plan to use Jill as bait to catch Christian," Astrid sighed. "Did I make a mistake deciding that?"

"You made the best plan you could make," Amy told her. "Yes, it was crazy and dangerous, but really, what other choice did you have?"

"Oh, there were probably other ones that didn't involve putting someone's life at risk," Astrid sighed. "But I wasn't thinking."

She then let out a start as Hazel appeared in front of her desk. "Hello," the blonde witch greeted Astrid urgently. "Are you aware of a plot by my brother John to just plunge everyone into chaos?"

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "And I have a plan to fix it, but you've probably come to tell me what a big mess I'm making of things, aren't you? Only something so awful would bring one of the most powerful witches ever back from the dead."

"No, I came to help," Hazel explained. "That girl Jill is under a lot of pressure and Vanessa and I have come to be backup for her. She'll get through it all right."

"Thank you!" Astrid cried, wishing she could hug the spirit. "That really eases my mind. You have absolutely no idea."

"Oh, I'm glad I could help," Hazel said. "Ena and I were just visiting our dear nephew and honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to Jill. She seemed to be holding her own pretty well."

"Sure, that's true now," Astrid replied. "Your nephew has only been around for a few days. He has no re; idea of the scope of his powers. He's friendly so of course she can handle him. But what about when things get worse? What if he kidnaps her, hurts her, or kills her? I couldn't live with having an innocent girl's death on my head because I came up with the stupid plan to use her as bait!" She teared up a little and Hazel came to put a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing bad will happen to Jill, I promise," she told Astrid. "That's what Ena and I are here for. If he needs to be taken down at any time, we'll do it." She paused. "Unless of course Jill doesn't let us because she wants to be a martyr. That could be a problem. But then it would be her decision and have nothing to do with you, so you wouldn't need to feel guilty. Does that make the situation any better?"

"No," Astrid sighed. "Not really."

Hazel sighed. "Well, you can't say I didn't try," she got out. "If you need me for anything else, let me know."

"Thanks," Astrid said and stood up. "But at this point, I think that a glass of something would be more helpful than a pep talk. But if you can do anything for me, I'll be sure to let you know, right away."

* * *

"Well, look who it is!" Klaus exclaimed when his and Amy's daughter Vivian and her husband King came into the house. "What brings you two here? A social call?"

"Yes," Vivi nodded. "And we have some things to tell you about Mikael."

"Is he betraying us out of his love for Freya?" Klaus asked. "I knew he would do something like that."

"Daddy, be polite!" Vivi told him. "You're talking about my father-in-law!"

"Well, all right," Klaus huffed. "I'm sorry." He went to sit next to King. "You're his son," he said. "What's Mikael up to?"

"I've tried to call for a while, but I've not been able to talk to him," King explained. "I talked to my mother though and she told me that Freya showed up the other night and gave birth to the Creature."

"You shouldn't call him the Creature!" Vivi reprimanded him. "It's behavior like that that turns people evil."

"Oh, I'm sorry," King shot back. "Freya gave birth to a nice fluffy bunny that's gonna spread cheer and rainbows wherever it goes. There I was nicer. Are you happy, Vivian?"

"Well, that's better than nothing," Vivi told him. "Think of this boy as being no different than Eva. You put up happily with Eva and her shenanigans, didn't you? And she got away with doing some pretty dark stuff."

"Yes, I know," King nodded. "But that was different!"

"How?" Vivi pressed. "How was it different?"

"Well…" King blustered, "It just was!"

"If you don't mind, I think we should continue this discussion of Freya and her new son," Klaus requested. "So…she's had the boy. And Mikael's okay with it?"

"Not necessarily," King assured him. "I think he was more concerned about Freya than her son. I don't know how she feels about the child at all."

"Well, maybe you should ask," Klaus told him. "You two have been looking for something to do, and here's your moment."

"All right," King sighed. "I'll see what I can do for you."

* * *

"King!" Mikael exclaimed as his son and Vivi came into the house. "It's been a long time since we've chatted, hasn't it?"

"Well, yes," King admitted as Vivi sat beside him quietly, ready to jump in if need be. "It's really hard to talk to someone when they ignore you every time you try and make contact. Tell me, how is Freya? How is the daughter you like more than me even though she betrayed you and was gonna watch you die for her own personal gain and I never did anything more than marry someone you disapprove of?"

Mikael narrowed his eyes. "I understand why you might be upset, but I don't have to explain my relationship with Freya to you. You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe not," King shot back. "But what I understand is that I've been trying my whole life to be a good son and be everything you wanted and it got me nowhere. I've shown loyalty to you. Why is that worth nothing when the betrayal of one of your other children still has her getting forgiveness?"

"Freya is my daughter, you are my son," Mikael told him firmly. "Women are different. She was vulnerable and confused. She was taken advantage of. You're much too smart to be taken advantage of like that."

"Oh seriously?" Vivi spat. "That's what you're going with? You're excusing the fact that she betrayed you because you want to pass it off as feminine weakness? Bullshit! You treat your son horribly when all he wants from you is to be treated like he matters. He doesn't need you to coddle him. He just needs to be told that you value him as a person. This is exactly why my father when crazy too. Do you want a repeat of that with a man who actually _is_ your son? Why don't you just admit your hypocrisy and either start being nicer to King, or yell at Freya? Or both. Cause that's what would be fair."

"If you would just let me explain myself, I can't say I'm too happy about the boy," Mikael told her. "I'm not going to treasure him or treat him special. In fact, I told what's-his-face that he better take his son back to his house because he's not staying here. Does that make you happy?"

"Well, it's a start," King sighed. "What will you do about Freya now that she's no longer pregnant?"

"I'm going to send her home with her son and his father," Mikael told him quietly. "In that way, she's reaping what she sowed. But I'm not completely abandoning her because I still feel like she could have a change of heart. I want to give her that chance." He paused. "Just like I also want to give you. Is that fair?"

"If you mean it," King told him and looked him square in the eye before reaching out and firmly clasping his hand. "I suppose it is."


	49. A Surprise For Jill

With the plans he had for Jill, he knew she wouldn't be around for very long. That being said, he couldn't afford to have her running around with other people. No, that just wouldn't do. He had to find a way to make it so that no one else would be interested in her and he could have her all to himself.

But how to go about that?

He was walking around downtown and trying to think when he walked past a tattoo parlor. He stopped as two people came out, what seemed to be each other's names clearly etched into their skin.

"Did you do that so that you wouldn't run off with other people?" He asked them. "Are the tattoos some way of declaring ownership?"

"Not ownership," the man, who had a very bushy beard, said quickly. "It's just a way to show commitment."

"Ah," Christian grinned, an idea popping into his head. "Okay."

The next night, the air conditioning in Malachai and Helene's house failed, so Jill's bedroom was very warm, and she couldn't sleep as her body heated up and she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat as she tossed and turned. Finally, she threw off her clothes, flopped down on her pillow, whispered a spell to put herself in a sleep (she didn't usually do that except in emergencies) and shut her eyes. It was after she'd drifted off that Christian appeared at the foot of her bed and then came around to look at her.

He was momentarily distracted from his mission by the sight of her lovely naked body that was illuminated by the moonlight shining through the open blinds, and he paused to run a hand slowly over her back and bottom before taking out a special pen, putting it on her right butt cheek, and carefully tracing his name and a heart in a very visible way. When it was done, he blew on the pen, smiled to himself, turned her over on her stomach to gaze at her lovely face a little longer, and disappeared. That token of his affection would be a nice surprise for her in the morning. It probably wouldn't even take her long to find it.

* * *

The next morning, Jill got undressed for her shower, saw the tattoo in the mirror, and let out a terrible shriek before grabbing her robe and running downstairs to where everyone else was having breakfast, looks of shock on their faces as she entered the room.

"What's the matter?" Malachai asked, running over to her. "Are you ill? Are you hurt?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "It's nothing like that. I just need Helene to come and look at something with me."

"All right," Helene agreed. "What is it?"

"I'll show you in the bathroom," Jill replied.

When they were in the privacy of the bathroom that was when Jill showed Helene the mystery tattoo. "It was just there when I woke up this morning," She said. "I swear I didn't do it myself. You believe that, right?"

"Yes," Helene sighed. "I do. And I'm sure we can find some way to get rid of it. But can we eat first?"

"Sure," Jill agreed. "Why not?"

"Everything okay?" Percy asked, a look of concern on his face "What's happened? Something to do with that nut who possessed me? Is he here?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Jill told him. "Helene and I have it taken care of. But it's sweet of you to worry. Thank you, Percy."

Percy sat down and resumed eating his toast, but kept his eyes on his sister.

"Okay," Malachai told her. "What can I make for you? Are you hungry?"

"Just toast and an egg, please," Jill decided. "I'm not very hungry."

"All right," Malachai told her. He was as concerned about her as Percy was, but he showed it more subtly, heaping food on her plate and giving her a hug when he put it in front of her place. "Enjoy," he said. "Whatever's wrong, I hope this will make it better."

* * *

"Let me look at that again," Helene instructed as they went back to Jill's room. Jill was still incensed about the tattoo on her butt. "I'm sure there's a way we can remove it." She paused. "Who's Christian? There's a Christian who kidnapped Kai's mother, but…"

"Yeah, that's probably him," Jill said shortly. "And I doubt there's a way to remove this. He probably found some sneaky way to keep it on me forever."

"As a matter of fact, I did," Christian told her. "Do you like it?"

"Speak of the devil," Jill said as both she and Helene turned to glare at him. "And no, I totally _hate_ it!'

"I know I was being spoken about, that's why I'm here," Christian smiled. "Somehow, I always know when your conversation has anything to do with me." He then glared at Helene, who was frowning at him from the corner where she'd retreated. "Leave us, please!" He demanded irritably, his blue eyes flashing. "We want to be alone."

Helene crossed her arms and didn't budge an inch. She knew about him and over her dead body would she just voluntarily leave Jill alone with him. "Nope, sorry," she said. "I'm not budging."

"Would you rather leave with breath still in your lungs, or should I I make you leave by killing you?" Christian asked. "I have many ways I can do it: I can set you on fire, I can strangle you, I can pull your beating heart from your chest…" he stepped away from Jill and came over to grab Helene and stroke her neck, keeping his eyes on her jugular. "Or I could just eat you." He let in a breath and closed his eyes. "Oh, I bet you would taste so good!" He then opened his eyes and shook her. "Which is it?" He asked. "Leave if you want to live. No harm will come to your daughter. What good would she do me dead at this point?"

"Fine!" Helene snapped, realizing there was no other way out of this. "But just know I hate you." She left and Christian grinned with satisfaction. "Now," he said, coming close to a wide-eyed Jill, taking her hand, and stroking her palm gently with his thumb. "What is it that you wanted to yell at me about? I think I know, but I would much rather be shown." He smirked and waited to see what she would do.

Jill let her robe drop after pulling her hand away, turning so he had a clear view of the tattoo. "What is going on in your head?" She growled. "I didn't have this when I went to bed last night, and since it's your name, I just _know_ you had something to do with it!"

"Look at you, letting me see you naked," Christian smiled and began kissing her neck after pulling her against himself backward. "I guess you want to get naughty. I don't mind. Now that everyone knows who you belong to, I'm all you've got."

Jill narrowed her eyes and gave him a slap after twisting her body to face him. "You are a _real_ asshole!" She cried as she watched his cheek redden. "I don't belong to _anyone_ , especially not you!"

"I would say you belong to me," Christian told her. "Why else would you have a tattoo on your ass with my name on it?"

"Cause you put it there!" Jill cried, shaking her head full of blonde hair as she repeated what she'd already said, her voice full of frustration. "I know it, you had to. I wouldn't do such a thing!"

"Would it make it all better if I got one with _your_ name on it so we're even?" Christian asked.

"No!" Jill shook her head and grabbed him by the lapels of his dark jacket so they were practically nose to nose. "Take it off!"

"All right," Christian nodded affably and began stripping. "Whatever you want."

"No!" Jill shook her head, her eyes widening. "That's not what I meant! Keep your clothes on!"

"Why?" Christian asked. "I mean, just looking at you makes me feel woefully over-attired. I think I should remedy that."

Jill groaned and tried to look away, but the more naked he got, the more fascinated she was. It was like looking at a car wreck: a really evil, sexy car wreck.

"Well, now," he said, rubbing his hands when his boxers were added to the pile and he was as naked as she was. "What sort of pleasure should we abandon ourselves to now?"

"None," Jill said simply and picked up her bathrobe. "What makes you think I would do anything like that with you? Especially after that crap with the tattoo?"

He pulled her to him, nibbled on her earlobe, and then whispered, "You have some fun with me and I'll promise to leave you alone for a while. I should probably go bother my father soon, anyway." He rolled his eyes. "He said he has stuff he needs to talk to me about, but I always run out on him."

"Why?" Jill asked. "He's your father. You should bond with him. Running away from your problems and just creating more for other people is not good."

"Fine," Christian told her. "You have some fun with me and I'll…I'll go talk to my father."

"I suppose that's fair," Jill conceded. "But don't expect me to look at you adoringly or fake an orgasm for your benefit or anything like that."

"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to," Christian told her. "Cause you've never been with anyone. You don't know how to do any of that stuff."

"And does that bother you?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian chuckled a little and took a few steps forward to push a flyaway strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "It just means I get to be in charge. And I like that."

"All right," Jill got out after taking a deep breath to calm herself. "But just…before we do this, can I make one request?"

"Of course," Christian nodded. "And I'll grant it if it's reasonable."

"Just this once…please don't hurt me," Jill told him. "I know what I have coming. I know what you're gonna to do to me and how I'm gonna end up, but just this first time…please don't hurt me."

The pleading in her voice and the shine in her eyes (which was soon revealed to be tears that she failed to hold back) gave him pause. She was right. He had lots of time to do with her what he wanted and it wasn't like she was resisting. And for that, she should be rewarded. Just this one time, he would grant her wish and show her that there _was_ tenderness in him." "All right," he said and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm going to show you that despite what you think you know, I do have some tenderness in me."

"How?" Jill asked, and then immediately took back the question. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Let's just get this over with."

"I'm so touched at how excited you are," Christian grinned. Then he zapped up a long dark bit of fabric and Jill gasped and backed away. "No," she shook her head. "I don't want to be tied up. I'm not sure I like things kinky."

"I'm just gonna blindfold you," he told her calmly. "I thought you would be all for that cause it would mean that you don't have to look at me."

"Well, that is a very good point," Jill nodded. "All right. But that better be all you do."

"It is," Christian told her firmly. "I swear. Now take your robe off and get into bed please."

"I appreciate that you said 'Please'," Jill told him. She got into bed, put the covers over herself, and then let him blindfold her as she lay back against the pillows. He shut off the light and made his way back to the bed, climbing in beside her and kissing her lips softly. Then a little harder, then a little harder, and soon, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and was kissing him back, their kisses becoming deep and wild. When they paused for breath, he kissed her neck and slowly ran his hands over her body while whispering a spell to lower the temperature in the room.

"Thank you for cooling everything down," she told him. Being blindfolded had intensified every touch on her body and she felt her body temperature rising.

"Oh, it's no trouble," he whispered back. "I'm gonna be the one who will make you sweat and I refuse to be outdone by a broken air conditioner."

She chuckled and as he kissed her stomach and ran his tongue around her belly button, he whispered, "I know you might not believe this, but you're going to be the death of me because you're so damn beautiful."

"If you think that's so, then why are you going to kill me?" Jill asked.

It was a reasonable question and it tripped him up. Finally, he spat in a soft voice, "That's my business, all right? Don't ruin this moment by making me share all that unpleasantness with you!"

"All right, all right," Jill agreed. "Sorry." She gasped as she felt him part her legs. "What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I just want to taste you," he said and kissed her inner thighs.

"Will it hurt?" Jill asked. "You promised me this time that you wouldn't do anything that would hurt."

"And I'm going to keep that promise," he said firmly. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"All right," Jill agreed, hoping that he was telling the truth. "You can do it, I guess." She then felt her breath picking up as his head went between her legs and he licked her slowly and steadily with his tongue. "Oh, oh, god," she panted. "That…that feels so…I've never felt anything like that."

This made Christian pause. "Is it good?" He asked, to her surprise. She hadn't expected him to give a crap about what she felt since he was eventually just gonna kill her anyway.

"Yes," she replied, feeling her toes curl and her body become warm. "Very good. Why are you stopping?"

"I don't have to," he told her, and then went back to pleasuring her. "You taste so good," he told her. "And to think that you're all mine. That we'll be able to do this as much as we want until-" Remembering that he wasn't going to talk about unpleasant things, he stopped there. "Never mind."

"Until you kill me!" Jill exclaimed, sitting up and clapping the lights on just as she felt herself come, but she was so mad she couldn't enjoy it. "Go ahead and say it: Even after all this bonding, you still want me dead!"

"Well, I-"

"Out!" Jill demanded and zapped him off the bed onto the floor. "You get out of my room right now! And I don't want to see your stupid face again today!"

He narrowed his eyes at her as he got to his feet. "I don't like being talked to like that," he told her.

"I know, but I don't care!" Jill replied as she reached for her robe. "I might not be living for very long, but I will not just lie down at your feet and let you do whatever you please with me, at least not without a fight. You got what you wanted, now go talk to your father."

Christian just scowled at her and grabbed a fistful of her hair, smiling as she grunted in pain. "Fine," he said. "I'll go talk to my father. I'll leave you for now. But I'll be back eventually. Don't you forget."

He left her on the floor then, and as she was getting up, she heard a knock on her door. "Are you all right?" Helene called. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No," Jill called back. "Nothing I can't recover from. Thanks for checking."

"You're welcome," Helene told her as she came inside and gave her a hug. "You're as good as a daughter to me and I wouldn't do anything less for you."


	50. Laughing In The Face Of Danger

"So tell us again what happened," Christian's aunt Hazel instructed Jill when they came to check on her again and she explained what had happened when Christian had stopped by. "You haven't given yourself to him have you?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "Well, at least I don't think I have. I'm not very knowledgeable about stuff like that."

"Well, of course you're not," Vanessa told her. "Wouldn't that just make sense? You have to be careful. Unless you actually _want_ to commit yourself to a man who's going to murder you."

"I have to," Jill told her. "If I don't, he'll destroy the world!"

"Oh, you never _have_ to do anything!" Vanessa told her irritably. "Don't tell me you're one of those self-sacrificing women who just sit back and let themselves be acted upon."

"I don't just sit back!" Jill defended herself. "I give him plenty of trouble! I don't let him off easy."

"I don't believe you," Vanessa told her. "I think you're gonna let him just overtake you out of some twisted sense of duty. You need to get away from him, and you need to get away from him _now._ " She looked at Hazel. "Am I right, or am I right?"

"Personally, I think she might be stirring up more trouble than she bargained for if she just cuts him off immediately," Hazel replied, her blues eyes big. "But she'll do what she must, I guess."

"Yeah, I must," Jill nodded.

"Just be careful," Hazel urged. "It seems like he's not planning on killing you right away and I assume you want to hang on to life as long as possible. If you jeopardize that, he probably won't give you the benefit of the doubt and will just do away with you."

"You two are confusing me," Jill told them. "Thank you for your help, but I really think I should handle this on my own. I believe I've done well so far."

"That's true," Hazel admitted, and then turned to her sister. "And she _is_ more knowledgeable about our nephew's habits than we are."

"Well, if she's so ready to handle this on her own, then why did we even come?" Vanessa asked irritably. "I wish I had been just like Enid and not involved in this big waste of time at all."

"I can handle your nephew," Jill told Vanessa for what seemed like the millionth time. "Just trust me. If I really need you, I'll call, but you can have faith in me to get this dealt with."

"I don't," Vanessa told her. "But on the bright side, I bet you'll look beautiful in your coffin."

"Goodbye," Jill replied firmly and watched the women disappear before lying down, taking a deep breath, and reveling in a rare silence.

* * *

"You seem to be feeling a lot better about Christian," Helene remarked to Jill the next day. "Have you decided to just let it all go with him? I know it's not really my place to say anything, but I really think it would be better for you if you did."

"Oh, I don't intend to let things go with him," Jill replied. She said what she said next knowing full well that he could probably hear her or whatever, but she had enough confidence in Hazel and Vanessa's ability to stick around that she didn't think there would be any danger mentioning them. "I have friends who will help me stand up to him."

"You know, one of his aunts visited my mother," Helene told her. "Said that she would look out for you."

"And that's exactly what she's doing," Jill replied. "She's Christian's aunt, but she really wants to make sure that I can handle myself against him." She was not surprised to see Christian pop up then. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Well, I wanted to give you your privacy," Christian told her. "Are my aunts nice? Do you think they would like meeting me?"

"I don't know," Jill shrugged. "Probably not, but that's not much different from anyone else you've ever met, right? If you want to meet them, I doubt their negative opinion of you will stop you from calling them up. Am I right?"

"Yes," Christian told her firmly. "Definitely."

* * *

As Christian prepared to call up his aunts, he paused to really think about what he was doing. Then he shrugged all doubt aside and called up his Aunt Hazel and Aunt Vanessa, screwing up his face and trying to be as sad, pathetic, and non-threatening as possible, especially when the first words out of Vanessa's mouth were a blunt, "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

"I-I'm your nephew!" He whimpered. "I just want to get to know my family! Since my father doesn't really love me, is that so wrong?"

"It's precisely because you're our nephew that we don't trust you," Vanessa told him sharply. "Don't forget that we've known your snake of a father a lot longer than you have. Now stop fooling around and tell us why you called us here."

Christian realized that they wouldn't believe his ruse and cut to the chase. "Tell me about your meetings with Jill," he demanded.

"There's nothing wrong with us seeing her," Hazel told him. "We're just trying to protect her from you."

"She doesn't need to be protected from me," Christian replied. "I'm not going to kill her until I'm done with her and she told me she's okay with that part."

"Just because she's all right with it doesn't mean it should happen," Vanessa informed him. "We will keep helping her and making sure you don't deprive an innocent girl of her life just because you're bloodthirsty and insane."

"Well, fine," Christian replied and took something out of his pocket. "I didn't want to have to do this because I wanted this conversation to go peacefully, but you twisted my arm." He began reciting a spell, and soon, Vanessa and Hazel had disappeared with loud shrieks.

"There," Christian said with satisfaction and wiped off his hands. "Now there won't be anyone to interfere with my plans, will there?"

* * *

He then turned his mental focus back to Jill, and when he heard her calling for his aunts, he thought that since he was the one that got rid of them, it would be only right for him to be the one to tell her they were gone.

"What are you doing here?" She cried, looking very irritated when he appeared. "I was calling for your aunts, not you."

"Well, they can't come right now," Christian told her. "In fact, they can't come ever. You're stuck with only me, and I thought since I am responsible, I should be the one to break the news to you."

"Where are they?" Jill asked, frowning deeply. "What have you done with them?"

"I made them go poof," Christian grinned. Then he gave a little chuckle. "Well, it wasn't so much a poof as a _kaboom!_ But there you go. They were shrieking. It must've been hell for them."

"Oh, you bastard!" Jill cried. "Can't I just have _some_ time to have a life of my own? Please?"

"No," Christian told her firmly.

"I knew you would say that," Jill told him, her voice shaking. "But I don't care. I'm gonna have a life and you'll just have to deal with it."

"Fine," Christian nodded. "But you know that that will make me unhappy. And when I'm unhappy, I tend to murder. You want that on your head?"

"I can take it," Jill replied. "Do your worst. It doesn't matter to me."

"Good," Christian smiled and gave her a kiss. "You don't know how happy you just made me."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Percy asked as he walked Jill into school for the third day in a row. "More trouble with Christian?"

"Yeah," Jill sighed. "I tried to stand up to him, you know? I told him I wanted a life of my own outside of him. I took a firm stance and made a big deal about how independent I could be, and how much the consequences from him wouldn't matter. But apparently, it was all just talk. Every time I think about taking a step forward, visions of horribly mangled bodies dance in front of my mind and I chicken out."

"Well, that doesn't seem right," Percy told her. "I want to help you have a night to forget about that. Why don't you come out with Stephanie and me?"

Jill smiled and gave him a hug. "That's very sweet," she told him. "But I don't want to be a third wheel."

"You won't be!" Percy promised. "I didn't want to mention this to you, but I have a friend who thinks you're really cute, but is too shy to say so. Want me to ask him to come with us?"

"Sure," Jill shrugged. "Why not?"

"All right," Percy nodded. "Good. We'll have a good time tonight, I promise."

"I hope so," Jill replied. "I really do."

* * *

"I can't tell you how happy I was when Percy told me you wanted to come out with me," Percy's friend Tommy said as he scooched close to her in the backseat of Percy's car. "I've liked you for a while now."

Jill liked his dark hair and dark eyes, but didn't want to get too close to him in case it would make Christian get ideas. "You know, you're not so bad yourself," she said.

"What are you thinking of getting at the restaurant?" He asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe a salad. I'm not really hungry."

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked her. "I hope I'm not making you nervous."

"Oh, no," Jill replied. "It's not you. I'm just…having trouble with an ex-boyfriend, that's all."

"Would you like me to help you forget?" He asked. "You know, this might sound cheesy, but…I know some magic tricks. Wanna see?"

"You realize she's a witch, right?" Stephanie asked from the front seat. "She might not be impressed."

"Now just a minute," Jill told her quickly. "I don't know a lot about what non-witches consider magic." She smiled. "So go ahead, Tommy. Show me something."

"All right," Tommy nodded, and pulled out a deck of cards. "Pick a card." He did the card tricks with competence, pulled a coin from Jill's ear, and gave her a flower by the time Percy pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

As they headed inside, Percy said to Jill, "Thank you so much for being supportive of Tommy's magic. A lot of girls think it's stupid."

"I don't," Jill replied with a smile. "I think it's cute."

"I'm glad," Percy told her. "And I assume you want to sit next to him at the table?"

"Well, duh!" Jill smiled. "And even if I didn't, you think Stephanie would let me sit anywhere else?"

"You have a point," Percy conceded as they reached the table.

As dinner progressed, Jill tried her best to make small talk with Tommy and let him amuse her because he really _was_ a funny and adorable guy. A werewolf, it seemed. Although her plan had been to try not to get too close to him because of Christian, she couldn't help herself and as they finished the last bites of the pie they were sharing, Jill blurted, "I don't suppose you'd want to go out again, would you, Tommy?"

"Yes!" Tommy smiled. "I would love that. You wanna go to a movie this weekend or something?"

"Sure," Jill nodded. "I would love that." As they made plans, Christian, who was sitting at the next table, but hidden behind his menu, put it down, paid for the drink he had ordered, then headed out to fiddle with the breaks and door locks on the car Percy had been driving before sitting in his own car and watching them all come out.

They drove away from the restaurant with Christian following Percy a discreet distance away, but of course Jill knew.

"Stop!" She cried. "Just stop right here, Percy. Please!"

"Why?" Percy asked. "What's the matter?"

"I—I don't feel good," Jill improvised. "I think I'm car sick. Let me out, please."

Sighing, Percy agreed, but asked if they could wait a little while longer. It was just as he said this that the breaks went out and soon, they were flying down the road, unable to stop.

"We have to get out!" Stephanie screamed. She knew she wouldn't actually die, but it was still terrifying nonetheless. But as each of them tried to open their doors, they found the locks were stuck. They couldn't get out. Finally, they just shut their eyes and let the car go until it crashed into a tree. It was only then that the locks unlocked and Jill was able to extricate herself from the car and call an ambulance, and after she did that, she strode over to Christian, who, of course, had seen the whole thing. "Did you want me to die?" She asked. "That little stunt of yours could have killed me, you know that, don't you?"

"Oh, you shouldn't be worried," Christian told her. "I had a way to fix it if it had hurt you too badly."

"That's it?" Jill fumed. "You almost kill me and people that I like and that's all you have to say?"

"I _told_ you that if you tried to see someone else, it wouldn't end well for you," Christian told her. "Did you think I was joking?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "I didn't. But I wasn't gonna let you stop me from having a life."

"No," Christian shook his head and pointed at Tommy, who seemed very dead, his neck twisted at a sickening angle as he lay in Percy's arms. "You just stopped _him_ from having one. Will I be seeing you later?"

"Yeah," Jill assured him and gave him a swift kick in the shins. "You better believe you will."

* * *

King was in the library plotting his latest plan that would either get rid of Freya or bring him closer to his father when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He let out a shriek and then heard a giggle followed by an "I'm sorry, King. I didn't mean to scare you."

King turned around and saw a pretty blonde smiling at him. She wore a jean jacket, a white shirt, and black slacks and he was more than happy to return her hug when she put her arms around him. "Haven't seen you in a while, Rebecca," he said to Gwen's daughter from her previous marriage. "What brings you here? Just a visit?"

"Well, that and Mom says you're having problems and you need someone to talk to," she said. "And she wasn't sure that you'd feel comfortable sharing emotions with her."

"And I don't know how they can blame me," King replied. "When all my life, they've treated every feeling that I've expressed like it was a problem. And yet when _Freya_ cries, Dad's all over her trying to make her feel better."

"It's cause you're a guy," Rebecca reminded him unnecessarily. "And he doesn't believe men should express emotion." She paused. "But I do. I'm used to helping guys who have issues. I did it with Robbie first and now I want to help you. So…tell me, what are you feeling?"

"I am feeling cheated," King confessed. "I am feeling insignificant and just plain pissed off that my sister can get away with all sorts of stuff and have all her emotional needs met because she's a woman and my dad is a jerk."

"Does Vivi not fill your emotional needs?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, yeah, she does, but Vivian is not the same as my dad, you know?" King asked. "Spouses don't fill the same needs as parents. You can't say that one is equal to the other."

"No," Rebecca shook her head and thought about how things were the same with her and Gwen and her and her husband Eli. "I know what you mean. You wanna…you wanna come to our house for a while? Give your brain a distraction until Vivi comes back from teaching class?"

"Sure," King nodded. "Thanks, I would love to."

"I'm sure Eli will be happy about that," Rebecca said fondly. "It'll give him someone to watch sports with since he's trying to get involved in all that and is too embarrassed to watch them on his own cause I'm not a sports person."

"Why would he be too embarrassed to watch them by himself?" King asked.

"I don't know," Rebecca shrugged and led him out of the room, through the house, and to her car. "Maybe what's embarrassing is that he has no idea what's going on and he needs someone to tell him."

"I can do that," King assured her. "No problem."


	51. Another Bad Date

Christian rubbed his shin as he limped into the apartment that he'd goaded John into getting for him after the whole reveal of his relationships with both Edele and Freya and collapsed on the chic black leather sectional in the living room. It had been so satisfying to watch that jerk who was putting his paws all over _his_ Jill and make her smile when he had no right crash and burn like that. _So_ satisfying. But at the same time, it had made Jill unhappy. How she could have become so attached to some nobody in one night that she'd actually grieve his passing was beyond him, but he supposed that he should, in some small way, try and apologize for upsetting her. It wouldn't help his plan if she was so mad that she wouldn't choose to come near him again and he had to force all their visits. With that in mind, he made a plan: he was going to ask Jill out on a date. Just like that Tommy had. And that would make her like him again. He knew it.

* * *

"What do you want?" Jill groaned when she found herself in the living room of Christian's apartment on the day he planned to do their date.

"I've been trying to call you about something important and you haven't answered me, so this was my only choice," Christian replied. "Don't I get credit for being polite?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "And most people would take being ignored repeatedly as a hint to stop calling. Tommy's funeral is soon and I don't feel like talking to anyone, especially not you because you're his murderer!"

"I know," Christian conceded, a slight blush coloring his cheeks as pulled at the tie that he wore along with a white shirt and black silk trousers. "I know that his death hurt you and I don't like seeing you hurt. But that's what I called you here for: I want to make it up to you by asking you out on an actual date. Think of it as my way of apologizing."

"You and me? _Alone_?" Jill asked and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "That's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard! You have to be joking!"

"Oh, don't be silly," Christian told her. "Of course it's not a joke. If you can handle being pleasured in the dark when it's just the two of us, I think you can handle a date."

"I don't know," Jill shot back. "I'll actually have to look at you this time."

Christian smiled. "At least you'll have something good to look at, am I right?"

Jill just scowled at him and said nothing, not wanting to further inflate his already big head with a response.

They stood in silence for a few seconds and then Jill turned to go. "Well, I didn't come dressed for a date, so we'll have to postpone this for some other time."

He reached for her hand and that stopped her. "No problem," he said, waving his hand so that her jeans, purple blouse, and sneakers changed into a short black lace dress and matching black heels. "Oh, and I almost forgot: I want you to have these too," he added and zapped up a dozen red roses to hand to her. "I know that that guy gave you one yesterday, so I figure what could it hurt to let you have more?"

"What a nice dress," she said dryly as she put the roses on the counter. "I'm surprised you want me to be in any clothes at all cause that stops you from seeing that brand of ownership you put on my butt."

"Oh, will you let that go?" Christian rolled his eyes. "I was very nice about that. I could have put it where people actually could see it, but I didn't. I put it in a secret and hidden place."

"Yes," Jill sighed. "You're so generous."

"You really look beautiful," Christian told her and zapped up a floor length mirror. "Go and have a look at yourself. I think you;'ll be very pleased at what you'll see."

"I'm supposed to think you're doing this just for my benefit, huh?" Jill asked as she went to look in the mirror, realizing with shock that she actually _did_ look gorgeous in the dress he'd picked out. "And not just because you want a pretty toy to play with?"

"No," Christian shook his head as he stood behind her and put his arms around her waist and blew in her ear so that she shivered and felt tingles in her body. Swallowing nervously, she tried to move his arms, but they stayed locked around her waist as he whispered to her.

"I know that I make you feel something," he said. "I can feel it when I touch you. I can see it in your eyes. Did that Tommy make you feel something when he was showing you his pathetic magic tricks? Did he give you goosebumps? Did he make your whole body warm?" They began to sway back and forth a little as Christian nibbled on her neck and Jill tried to conceal what she felt with irritation. "No!" She said. "But that didn't matter. He made me laugh and that was good enough for me. Not everything has to be about goosebumps and warm bodies."

"Of course it doesn't _have to_ ," Christian agreed. "But isn't it more fun when it is?"

"You know, I probably would have felt stuff like that for Tommy if you hadn't killed him," Jill shot back. "Don't you get that?"

"Well, of course," Christian nodded. "Why do you think I had to kill him?"

That made it easy for her to push him away. When they were separated from each other, she cleared her throat and said, "You know what? I think we should start the date now so we can get it over with, if that's all right with you?"

"I don't see any need to rush because I think we were getting along very well, but I suppose if that's what you want, we can get on with it," Christian conceded and pulled out a chair for her. "Would you like to sit?"

"Thank you," Jill replied and sat down. "That's surprisingly gentlemanly of you."

"Why is it so surprising?" Christian asked. "I can be gentlemanly if you give me a chance. I can be _very_ gentlemanly."

"Fine, whatever," Jill snapped, badly wanting a change of subject. "How is this date gonna go? Do I get food or what?"

"Of course," Christian nodded and zapped up a spread, including a bottle of champagne and two glasses. "Can I pour you a little something?" He asked.

"Yes, please!" Jill said, even though she knew that it was a bad idea. He poured her some champagne and nudged a vegetable tray toward her.

"You want to start with that?" He asked. "Or any of the other nibbles I have around here? Little sandwiches, cheese and crackers, nuts, fruit…?" He offered her a plump, red strawberry. "Go ahead and have it. I hear they're very delicious."

"You honestly think I'm gonna eat fruit in front of you?" Jill asked. "The sexy way, I mean?"

"Oh, for god's sake!" Christian huffed, leaning over across the table, an impatient look in his eyes. "I was just offering you fruit! I know damn well you're not gonna eat it sexy in front of me. At least not _now_ anyway."

"All right, all right," Jill replied and took a strawberry. "I'll have one. Jeez!" She ate some fruit and some cheese and then asked Christian for the main course. "What are we having for our entrée?" She wanted to know.

"Whatever you want," Christian told her. "It's up to you."

She requested pasta, and ended up tucking into angel hair with tomato sauce and grated cheese while he ate linguini with clams. "So," he said after swallowing his first mouthful. "Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do?"

"Seriously?" Jill asked. "You want to have this discussion?"

"Yes!" Christian insisted. "Favorite color and favorite book. Let's start there."

"Blue, and… _Matilda_ ," Jill answered, humoring him. "I'd ask you the same questions, but since you've not been around very long, I don't know if you'd be able to answer them."

"I like green," Christian told her. "Specifically dark green. And while I haven't had time to read a lot, I've borrowed Machiavelli's _The Prince_ and Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_ from my father's library and let me just say that they are _fascinating_ reads."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Jill replied. "I also like autumn. The chill in the air for that time of year is very invigorating to me."

"And that's when Halloween is, isn't it?" Christian asked and took some more pasta on to his fork. "Don't witches like Halloween?"

"It's a celebration day for us, to be sure," Jill conceded. "But not like how you see on TV. It's more of a day for people to come together and do witch stuff." She paused and took a drink. "But the Council's fall party is always fun."

"Is it?" Christian smiled. "Maybe I should go sometime."

"Well, depending on how dangerous you get, they might not let you in," Jill reminded him. "Or they'll arrest you once you get through the door."

Christian chuckled. "Not if they don't know it's me." He paused. "I like the thought of winter," he said speculatively. "When everything is dark and cold and dead. And the earth is so still."

"That just makes sense, doesn't it?" Jill nodded. "It doesn't surprise me." Then she said, "Since you seem to be doing your utmost to be civil for some reason, I think I'll pay you a compliment. I think you look very nice in that outfit."

"Thank you," Christian smiled. "I just threw it on. I'm glad you like it."

She looked around. "And this apartment is so nicely decorated. How'd you get it? From your dad?"

"Yeah," Christian smiled. "It was my father's way of apologizing to me after I found out that he was seeing someone else besides my mother."

"Oh, what a shame," Jill told him. "But does it really surprise you that you would end up with a family who had a few screws loose?"

"No, not really," Christian shook his head. "Considering that my whole existence is to help my father achieve his own ends."

"Me too, in a way," Jill confided. "Malachai's really nice about it, but that's what it all boils down to."

Christian then reached out and took her hand, kissing the palm. "It really sucks, doesn't it?" He asked, his eyes locked on her without blinking. "Being used like that."

"It doesn't bother me as much when he does it," Jill said softly. "But you…how you're using me, being all nice like this when I know how this is gonna end…that really hurts."

"I'm sorry," he said, coming around the table, taking her in his arms, and kissing her. "I really am."

"No, you aren't," she told him, looking away. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not," Christian assured her and picked her up, carrying her away from the table after zapping it clear. "There's a part of me that really is sorry for you."

He then pushed the couch and foot stools away from the middle of the floor and turned on the radio. A soothing melody began to play and he held out his hand to her. "Would you like to dance?" He asked. "I promise I won't bite."

Jill swallowed and nodded. "All right," she said. "But this better be the last thing we do before you let me out of here." She put a hand in his and he pulled her to him. She thought he would try and make her do elaborate dance moves, but to her surprise, he just contented himself with holding her close and swaying back and forth, only occasionally twirling her when the music picked up. It was actually rather enjoyable. She laid her head on his chest and as the back and forth movement of their bodies relaxed her, she felt her eyes close, and she held onto him tighter as the music played around her.

* * *

Just as Jill was beginning to be lulled into a sense of security because (to her surprise) Christian had kept his word and been what could be considered a gentleman, the mood began to change. They had been dancing when all of a sudden, he pulled her to him and then used one hand to turn the music off. Then, he kissed her with the hand that wasn't around her waist threading through her hair. She was surprised at first, but then she found herself kissing him back, deeply. She pulled away after that first kiss, frightened by its intensity and wondering why she was doing it in the first place. Then she realized she wanted another one, so she kissed him again. He pulled her close against him as they kissed over and over: slow, lingering, deep kisses, light, quick, soft ones…some involving Christian biting Jill's lip and drawing a small amount of blood as his hands roamed over her body and played with her skirt.

"I want this off," he breathed heavily as he picked her up. "Let me take you. I want you so much!"

"Damn you!" She screamed. "Damn you for making me feel so good that I want you too! But that's how it always is, isn't it? The things that are worst for you always come in the most alluring packages."

Christian smiled and picked her up. "Two compliments in one day. Could it be that you like me after all?"

"No, liking your kissing and how it feels when you touch me is different than liking you as a person," Jill replied as he brought her into his bedroom, put her down on her feet, and shut the bedroom door behind him. He instructed her to turn around so he could unzip the black dress and pull it off her, and when she did so, she saw what was over his bed and gasped.

"Oh, my god!" She cried and let out a shriek. "There is a naked picture of me above your bed! Why would you have something like that here?"

"You shouldn't be ashamed," he said jovially as he gave her bottom a squeeze and then peeled off her dress and pulled off her bra. "You have a beautiful body. In fact, I was thinking of moving this to the living room so that everyone who came to visit me could see it."

"No," Jill shook her head. "Get rid of it! Or if you absolutely have to have it, just keep it in here."

"All right, all right," he said. "I'll keep it in its private place, just like I did with your tattoo. You never thanked me for my discretion, by the way. I thought you would."

"You think I'm gonna thank you for giving me a tattoo without my consent?" Jill cried. "Are you nuts? Are you fucking _insane?_ Of course you are. Why am I even asking? I know the answer already." She picked her bra up off the floor and started to put it back on. She did the same with her dress and then bounded over to the bed, climbed up on it, and tried to remove the picture from the wall.

"Just what the hell are you trying to do?" He asked as he watched her struggle.

"What do you think?" Jill asked without looking at him. "I'm trying to get this incredibly embarrassing picture taken off your damn wall. You had no right to take a photo like this without asking me first. No right!"

But the picture meant more to him than she believed and he quickly scrambled on the bed beside her to try and push her away from the picture and keep it where it was. They struggled for a few seconds and then lost their footing, falling on top of one another in a heap. Christian was on top and while Jill tried to move from underneath him, he soon had her pinned against the mattress, her arms over her head and his hands tightly gripping her wrists as he looked down furiously into her wide blue eyes.

"Let me go!" She yelled and struggled. She tried to kick him, but she didn't have the right angle and always missed. "You can't hold me like this. I hate you! You have no idea how much I hate you!" She spat in his face and as he wiped it off his cheek, he chuckled at her. "You didn't hate me so much a few minutes ago. We were having fun. Why do you have to go and ruin it by being so nasty?"

"You are _unbelievable_!" Jill raged. "I can't believe I actually thought you could be nice. Or a gentleman. Or care about me at all. You're just…you're just a big asshole who doesn't care about anyone but himself!"

Christian hushed her with a kiss then and let go of her wrists to push up her skirt, slip off her panties, and give her a rub. This put her in a calm state and when she was no longer struggling, he said quietly, "Here's what's going to happen now: You're going to go back home, pack your bags, say goodbye to your family, and move in her with me."

"No, I'm not," Jill said, her voice breathy. "You're out of your mind!"

He was displeased to see that even as he was pleasuring her, she was still being difficult. She gasped as she climaxed and then he said, "If you don't come back to me in twenty four hours, I'm going to have to kill off your siblings one by one until you return. And after the death of poor Tommy, do you want any other murders laid at your feet, my darling?" He zapped up another rose and stroked her cheek with it as she kissed her hair. "It won't be so bad. You'll see." He let her sit up and handed her her balled up panties. "Put these back on and go pack your things." He jumped off the bed and spanked her after she put on her panties and pulled her skirt back down. "Go, go, go!"

"I hate you," Jill told him as she narrowed her eyes and zapped herself home to pack her bags and explain to Helene just what in the world was going on.


	52. Movin' Out

"So you have to move in with him," Helene got out as she watched Jill throw stuff into a bag. "You have to move in with him and you don't have any choice in the matter."

"Exactly," Jill nodded and began grabbing handfuls of underwear and throwing them into her suitcase. She had a black silky pair and a red lace pair, but she left them in the drawer because the last thing she wanted was to reward Christian for his blackmail by allowing him to see her in what she considered to be very sexy underwear. "Okay, here's the first bag." She paused as Helene looked at her with worry. "Do you think I'm wrong for going with him?"

"No," Helene sighed. "I feel terrible that you're in this position, though." She gave her a hug. "Take care of yourself," she urged. "Please."

"I will," Jill assured her. "I have one more day here, and then I'll be leaving and I promise to take good care of myself."

Helene shook her head and looked worried. "I know you're doing what you think is best, but I still hate it."

"I know," Jill said and hugged her. "That's why I love you as much as I love my own mother."

"Hey," Annie said as she came upon them. "What are the bags for, Jill? You moving out?"

"I kind of have to," Jill replied. "If I don't, very bad things could happen." She looked dramatically into the distance for a few seconds and then went to pack another bag as Annie followed her. "Are you serious?" She pressed. "What could possibly be so bad that you have to move out? You can fight it, you know? Just ignore it."

"No, I can't ignore it," Jill shook her head. "Remember at the ball when the power went out and everyone was running for their lives and Helene and Malachai found me unconscious?"

"Yeah," Annie nodded and went to the closet to throw Jill some of her shoes to pack. "Which ones do you want?" She questioned. "The tennis shoes? The heels? The flats?"

"Give me some of each," Jill decided and then held out her hands to catch them as they came flying her way.

Once the bag was packed, Annie went to join her sister and continue the conversation. "What about when Malachai and Helene found you unconscious?"

"It was because of a very powerful spirit," Jill tried her best to explain about Christian, even though he was _not_ someone she felt she could explain at all. "The spirit of the child our pregnant hostess was carrying. Only, when I saw him, he was an adult."

"Well, that's weird," Annie remarked.

"No, that's not even the weird part," Jill told her. "The weird part was that his growth process was accelerated after he was pulled out of his mother so now, he's like, twenty-five and (in a purely aesthetic sense) very attractive. And obsessed with me, too. If I don't go and live with him, he's gonna kill everyone in my family."

"Well, shouldn't that be a sign to run the other way?" Annie questioned. "Not sure I see your thought process here. And I don't think Percy's gonna like it either."

"I know," Jill sighed. "I'm not gonna enjoy telling him. Cause you're right; he won't understand and he'll kick up a big fuss and then I'll feel guilty and refuse to go and I know I really have to!"

"I'll come with you to tell him after we pack," Annie promised her. "Will it be easier for you to tell him if you have backup?"

"Yes," Jill nodded and hugged her. "Thank you."

* * *

When all Jill's bags were piled up by the door, Jill and Annie then asked Helene if she knew where Percy was.

"I think he's at Elijah and Selina's with Stephanie," Helene replied. "Are you going to go tell him that you're moving out, Jill?"

"Yep," Jill nodded. "And Annie's coming for backup because I really don't think I could handle it by myself."

"Well, since you're doing what you think is best, don't let him try and talk you out of it," Helene told her. "Stick to your guns."

"I will," Jill assured her. "I promise."

But once the cat had been let out of the bag, it was a much harder promise to keep, Jill found. After she told Percy, he froze on the couch next to Stephanie, squeezing her hand hard as his face went through a cycle of colors, from pale, to red, to a slight shade of green.

"You're going to live with the guy who possessed me? And killed Tommy?" He got out at last in a strangled voice. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Cause I have to," Jill replied. "It's for the good of my family! He said he would kill all of you if I didn't come. And then he'd probably move on to humanity and I don't want those innocent deaths on my conscience either. I know you don't like it, Percy, but it's easier this way." She looked imploringly at Stephanie. "Tell him, please."

"What do you want me to say?" Stephanie asked her. "Repeating what you said won't suddenly make him feel better about it, even if it comes from me."

"Seriously?" Jill groaned.

"She's right, you know," Percy replied.

Then Annie groaned in frustration. "Will you just get over yourself?" She yelled at him. "I know you're not happy about this. I know you think that the choice she's making is dumb and you're going to miss her. But it's her choice! She's doing what she thinks is best and by making her feel guilty about doing something she thinks is right just because it's not what you would do, you're not being a very good brother or a very good friend. So why don't you just wish her good luck, tell her to take care of herself, and let us all move on?"

Percy looked at her in shock. He felt like he'd just been slapped. Then, the more he thought about it, although he didn't want to admit it, he had to tell himself that Annie was right.

"I'm sorry," he got out at last and took Jill's hand. "I don't like what you're doing and it scares the crap out of me, but…if that's what you want to do and you think it'll make things right, then who am I to tell you otherwise?" He gave her a hug. "Good luck. I'll miss you. Cause I figure that based on what happened with Tommy, that guy reacts the same way to _any_ guy that comes near you, which means I'll probably never see you again."

"Oh, I'm sneakier than you think," Jill told him. "I promise you'll see me again sometime. It might not be right away, but you will."

"Good," Percy smiled."

"When do you leave?" Stephanie asked.

"Tomorrow morning is when I plan to," Jill told her. "According to Christian, I'm on a bit of a deadline. But there's still a bit of time until I go and I intend to make the most of it."

"Does Christian ever talk to you about what his dad is up to?" Stephanie asked. "You know, his whole plan to take over the world and destroy everyone?"

"Not really," Jill shook her head. "Just that John wants to use him as a big part of that plan, but he won't tell him more. So if you were hoping I could be some useful source of information for your dad or your uncle, I'm sorry I can't be more help."

"That's okay," Stephanie said. "You're going to live with Christian, so I have a sense that you'll find out something useful in due time."

"Yeah, but whether or not I'll successfully be able to relay it to you is another matter entirely," Jill told her.

"Is that Jill I heard?" Elijah asked as he came upon them after leaving his office.

"That's real subtle, Daddy," Stephanie said to her father. "And before you ask, she says she doesn't know anything that can help you, so don't ask."

Elijah gave a sad look. "Really? Cause I was hoping—"

"I know you were," Jill told him. "I know it's just a pain in the butt to be sitting around and waiting for something bad to happen, but I can't offer you more than that. At least not yet. If I know something that could help, I'll try and play double agent, though."

"That could be a very stupid choice on your part," Elijah told her. "So thank you."

"You're welcome," Jill replied. "And I'm aware of the dangers, believe me."

* * *

Christian woke up early the next morning and, completely ignoring just how early it was, gave Jill a call on her cell phone.

"What?" She answered irritably. She sounded tired and Christian could just picture her sleepy gaze and adorably tousled blonde hair as she clutched her phone. "What is it you want, Christian? I told you that I would come today and I meant it."

"I know," Christian told her. "And just to be sure you don't go back on that promise, I'm going to set a timer. A twenty-four hour timer. And if you don't come by the time the clock runs out-"

"Yeah, I know," Jill cut him off. "All my family is dead. I get it. At least let me sleep for a few more hours, eat something, and put on normal clothes."

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary," Christian told her. "Just come over. I bet you look adorable in your pajamas."

"Drop dead," Jill told him curtly. "And goodnight." She ended the call, leaving Christian chuckling to himself as he put the phone back on his nightstand and set a really fancy watch he'd taken from John for a twenty four hour countdown in anticipation of Jill's arrival.

* * *

It was as she was getting ready to leave for Christian's that Victoria showed up to join Helene for breakfast. "What's going on here?" She asked Jill. "What are all the bags for? Are you going on a trip?"

"No, not exactly," Jill told her. "Remember when you promised the council that you'd watch over Kai to make sure he didn't escape from jail and cause trouble? Well, I'm sort of doing that too, only with Christian. He wants me to move into his apartment, and he said that if I didn't do it soon, he would kill all my relatives."

"Oh, god," Victoria groaned and asked Jill to come with her to the kitchen table. When they were both sitting down, she got her some coffee and said, "I hope this will all be worth it for you. Does he…does he treat you all right?"

"Well, when we went on our first date, he was nice," Jill told her. "He gave me flowers, he fed me, we danced…it was like I was seeing an entirely different man. He even told me once that he thought I was so beautiful that I would be the death of him…and that he wants me so much. But how am I supposed to reconcile that with everything else he says? Sometimes he's good, and sometimes he's bad, and I don't know how I'm gonna deal with the bad to get the rare moments of good without going insane."

Victoria smiled and took her hand. "Don't worry. I know it might sound weird for me to say, but…I think he really does like you. Kai was like that with me in the beginning too: the genuinely touching moments were few and far between and most of the time, I was dealing with a big jerk. But he sorted himself out in the end."

"That might be true of Kai, but I don't think it's true of Christian," Jill said sadly. "The only reason why he's nice to me is to try and trick me into doing what he wants. He just wants me to sleep with him because he doesn't have any other friends and wants diversions from boredom. Nothing deeper than that."

"I disagree," Victoria insisted. "I think you just need to take the reins a bit more. Don't just let him do everything. Show him that you can play the game with him too."

"Oh, I can't do that!" Jill said. "He won't go for it. I have no clue what I'm doing!"

"I bet you do," Victoria told her. "You don't have to try too hard because it's when you try too hard that things get awkward. Are you telling me that there's not one thing you think you can use to get on even footing with him physically? Not undressing in front of him and doing a sexy dance, or…covering yourself with frosting and letting him lick it off…or letting him cuff you to the bed while he bites your naked body and licks the blood up…" She trailed off as Jill stared at her, looking disgusted. "Sorry."

"Well…" Jill said, her mind going to that horrible picture of her naked that hung over his bed. "I suppose there might be one thing. Do you want me to tell you what it is?"

"No, I don't need to know," Victoria shook her head as Helene came into the house with doughnuts and apologized for being late. "I'm just glad that you're on your way to seeing that, no matter how crazy it might sound, you're going to be with a man who could give you your future." She zapped up a bottle and handed it to her. "Oh, and you're going to need these, too. Birth control. Can't have lots of sex without birth control. Gotta have some control over your future. Cause you don't want what happened to Freya to happen to you. And I think it could."

"Yeah, having a little control would be nice," Jill concurred. "Especially when most of my life is already decided and by being with Christian, I'm giving up so much. It's going to be awful."

"Of course it will be, if you go into it with that attitude," Victoria told her. "Want a doughnut before you go?"

"Yes, take one," Helene urged. "You really should eat something before you leave."

"All right," Jill conceded, zapping all her bags in the car and then sitting down to eat her last doughnut before she became the prisoner of the most evil and alluring man she'd ever met.

* * *

"So nice to see that you listened to me and did what I said," Christian told her when she arrived and took her bags in a very chivalrous fashion after stopping the watch in his pocket. "Cause believe it or not, I wasn't looking forward to killing any of your relatives."

"Oh, I really don't believe that," Jill said firmly. "I think you would have really enjoyed yourself. The look on your face when you saw Tommy's body was one of unrestrained glee and you can't convince me any different."

When the first four bags were lined up next to the stairs, he said, "How many more do you have?"

"Well, how many would you expect me to have if I'm moving somewhere I'm gonna be stuck for the rest of my life…however long that might be?" Jill asked.

"All you had to do was say that there were more in the trunk of the car," Christian told her. "I'll go get them after I show you to your room."

"Don't you mean 'show you to _my_ room'?" Jill asked curtly.

"Yes," Christian nodded and picked up the first batch of bags. "Yes indeed. Now, let me show you to your room." They kept walking and walking and then when they paused by a door and went inside, Jill scoffed. "This is your room! I don't want to sleep in your room! Give me one of my own!"

"No," Christian shook his head. "This is your room now. _Our_ room. And you're not sleeping any place else!"

Jill had a feeling that this would be an on-going battle between them. But by the time she'd gotten through her first day living with him (including finding out that he'd already picked a wardrobe for her that was incredibly revealing and sexy, _including_ the underwear), she was too tired to truly fight him on the matter. Instead, she just settled for moving from the mattress to the floor at the foot of the bed in the pathway to the bathroom when she was sure he was asleep and sleeping there instead. She snoozed soundly until she was awakened a few hours later by a sharp pain in her head and a loud swear next to her ear.

"What in the hell?" She cried as Christian snapped the bathroom light on. "What did you have to go and kick me in the head for? I know you want me in bed with you, but I'm just not comfortable with that yet!"

"I didn't kick you on purpose!" Christian yelled. "I tripped over you on my way to the fucking bathroom because I didn't know you were sleeping on the floor! I hit _my_ head too. Are you gonna ask if _I'm_ all right?"

"Oh, fine," Jill conceded. "I'm sorry I made you trip and fall. Are you all right?"

"No," he said and rubbed his head. "But I have some ideas of how you can make it up to me."

Jill smiled. "I have one too, but it'll have to wait until morning."

"Is that so?" Christian smiled and got down beside her in her makeshift bed, pulling the blanket over both of them. "What is it?"

"The only hint I'm going to give you is that it will grant me my wish of getting rid of that horrible picture over your bed," Jill told him. "Now sleep! I'm not saying anything more."

"That's okay," Christian assured her. "The visions that are crowding my head right now are supplying decent explanations to what you just said." He kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, my little Goldilocks."

"Goodnight," Jill replied dryly and rolled so that she was facing away from him before she closed her eyes again.

* * *

"You want to _what?"_ Christian asked, his jaw dropping when she told him her plan for getting rid of the picture above the bed. He'd thought of many things she could have said, but what she'd just told him went beyond any of them.

"I want you to re-take the picture of me," she said calmly. "That way, you can have it up there with my consent and I won't constantly have to bug you about it."

"And when you say you want to re-take the picture, do you mean _actually_ re-take the picture?" Christian asked. "It's not just taking another picture entirely, where you're clothed and stuff, right?"

"No," Jill sighed. "I suppose I can stand letting you have another naked picture." She undressed and looked down at her body with a sigh, taking one of her small breasts in hand and giving it a squeeze. "But why you want a picture of someone who's so skinny and has such small breasts is beyond me."

"I want you because you're you," he said, coming over to put a hand on her chin and lock eyes with her before pulling her to him and giving her a kiss. "And I think you're beautiful. Now, let me get my camera before you change your mind."

"I won't," she told him. "I promise."

He got his camera and to his surprise, instead of just letting him take one picture like he thought she would, she let him take a variety of tasteful yet sexy poses, some involving a strategically placed lavender sheet. He was very pleased with how into it she got, especially the pictures where he'd make faces before taking the photo and he'd catch her with her most genuine smile, her face lit up, her eyes bright.

Finally, when they had several photos, she paused. "All right," she said. "You got enough?"

"Yeah," Christian smiled. "Lots of good ones."

"And let me guess, you're gonna pick the one where wearing the least to put over the bed, right?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian shook his head as he looked through them and found one of her lying on her side, holding the sheet to cover her pubic area, but leaving everywhere else bare. "Well, yes, I guess. But not just because you're naked." He showed her the picture, which happened to show her mid-laugh, something he'd done to try and ease her mind since she was in such a state of undress. "Look how happy you are? I'm picking this one just as much for your smile as for your beautiful body."

She stared at him. He seemed very serious. "Are you telling the truth?" She asked. "Do you truly mean what you're saying?"

"Yes," he told her firmly. "I wouldn't lie to you about that. Now, I assume you want to get dressed? Goosebumps are breaking out all over your body."

"Now that you mention it," she said, suddenly noticing a chill in the air, probably from the air conditioner. "Yes, yes I do. I…I hope you enjoy the pictures."

"Oh, I will," He assured her as she went to get her clothes and wiggled her bottom a little on the way there. "Don't worry about that."

* * *

With Jill's departure, the mood in the house changed. Percy was sorry to see her go, of course, and so was Annie, who'd gotten very close to her psychic sister over time.

"So she's gone, is she?" Damon asked when Annie told him. "Are you thinking of leaving the house too?"

"Where would I go if I left the house?" Annie asked.

"Well…" Damon pointed at the boardinghouse behind them.

"What?" Annie scoffed and quickly rose to her feet. "We tried this already, remember? It didn't work out, which is why I went to live with Malachai and Helene in the first place. You hate me, remember? I don't see why that would change now."

"Would you believe that the ball made me see you differently?" Damon asked.

"Don't be silly," Annie told him. "Nothing changed. All I did was put on a dress. I don't see how that would make a difference."

"It has," Damon assured her. "Please give me a chance to show you."

"Well…all right," Annie sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. And I can always leave again if I want to."

They went together to get her things and were met by a very surprised Malachai. "First Jill and now you," he sighed. "Why is everyone leaving? Is it something that I've done wrong?"

"No, you're great," Annie assured him and gave him a hug. "I just…I'm sure you and Helene have better things to do than babysit me. And I'm much better on my own anyway. Thanks for taking me in, though."

"No problem." Malachai told her. Then he gave Damon a stern look. "If she's moving in with you, you better take care of her," he said firmly. "No breaking her heart or anything like that. She's been through enough already, and thanks to me, she's got more coming."

"I'll be careful with her," Damon promised. "I swear."

"I'm not worried about him," Annie said. "But Malachai, it's really sweet that you are."

It took some time, but they finally managed to shake him off and get Annie's things back to the boardinghouse.

"Can I have my old room back?" Annie asked as they pulled up, got out, and she grabbed the first couple of bags out of the trunk of Damon's car. "Or do you want me to sleep with you?"

"Well, let me put it this way," Damon told her. "You can have your old room, but if you ever _want_ to join me in mine, the door is always open."

"Oh, I'm sure it is," Annie nodded. She then grabbed a bag and went inside as Damon realized how what he said could have been taken.

"I meant for you!" He called after her, running into the house. "I mean it's always open for _you!_ No one else."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Annie told him. "I mean, if you're really serious about us, I'm sure you'll be able to prove it. But until then, I'll believe it when I see it."

"Yes," Damon told her and took her bags, leading her to her old room, then giving her a kiss after setting the suitcases down on the bed. "You will, I promise."


	53. A Vist From Mother

Christian grunted when he was awoken early in the morning once again by Jill bumping into him as she tossed and turned on the floor next to him.

"Sorry," she apologized. "But I'm a roller! And if you would just go sleep in your bed instead of feeling like you always have to be next to me, we wouldn't have this problem. I mean, I'm honored, but you can't like getting hurt so much."

"It's worth it being next to you," he told her firmly. "As long as you're here, I'm here."

"You're just unbelievable," Jill told him, although she was secretly very touched. "So when you say that you'll get into bed if I do, you really mean it?"

"Yes," Christian told her firmly. "You get your wonderfully tight ass under my covers and I'll come and join you."

"Oh, all right," Jill gave an exaggerated sigh and got to her feet. When she'd climbed into bed, she locked eyes with Christian. "All right, you have to come and join me now. You promised."

"I'm well aware of that," Christian replied and hoisted himself up next to her. "You don't have to remind me."

"What are you gonna do now?" She questioned. "Go back to sleep so you can rest up and have energy to make your next evil scheme?"

"Oh, I don't know," He said, giving an exaggerated yawn and stretching his arms upward to give her a good view of his bare chest. "Maybe."

Jill's jaw dropped and Christian smirked a little as some drool came out of her mouth and onto his bare stomach. "See anything you like?" He asked dryly as he reached out to clean the side of her mouth with his thumb and then clean himself off. "I think you do."

"Sorry," Jill apologized. Then she smiled and lay down next to him. "You know, I think I'm ready to go back to sleep too. Right here in your bed. Can I trust you?"

"Maybe," Christian smirked. "Does it really matter? And to reiterate, this is not _my_ bed. It's _our_ bed. You're just too stubborn to say so. Is it because you're nervous?"

"Well, no, but…" Jill zapped up a bunch of pillows and made a barrier between her side of the bed and his. "I just want to get some sleep."

"And you think pillows are gonna keep me in my place?" He asked, reaching across the barrier and moving some of her hair out of her face. "See, I breached your defenses in two seconds. I really think it's time you stopped playing games and just admitted that you like me, that you want more from me than to just stop me from destroying humanity." He looked up at the new picture that hung over their heads. "I have a picture hanging there that proves it."

Jill shook her head. "Just because I let you have a picture that showed I was comfortable with my body, that doesn't prove anything else, especially involving you. You just think it does because you were taught by your father to feel like the entire world revolves around you."

She then waited to see how he would respond to such an unflattering and blunt remark. She prepared for him to be angry, but instead he just chuckled. "That's what I like about you," he said. "You don't try and soften things. You don't just tell me what I want to hear even though when you do, there's a part of you that's afraid that it won't get a good response. You're very real and honest. You don't pretend to be someone you're not. I appreciate that."

"Good," Jill replied and rested her head on her hand as she looked at him. "You know, so many people were worried about me moving here with you. My brother Percy, especially."

"Well, I'm sure you told him that I was a good guy, right?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "I didn't. But even if I had, he probably wouldn't believe me because you possessed him to get close to me and killed one of his best friends for the same reason."

"Oh, god!" Christian's face twisted. "That guy had friends? I find that hard to believe. And I don't think it's fair for your brother to judge me for just one misstep."

"One little misstep?" Jill asked. "You _possessed_ him!"

"I only did it so I could see you," Christian defended himself and then pushed the pillows aside to grab her and kiss her. "That's not so bad, is it?"

"Well," Jill smiled after they'd pulled apart. "I suppose that in its own weird way it's touching." She then kissed him again, her hands roaming over his body as he held her close against himself, his grip tight as if he would lose her if he didn't hold on for dear life. He then broke the kiss to flip her underneath him and push up her nightgown while he nibbled on her neck and licked the blood up in a leisurely fashion. When he heard her gasp, though, that gave him pause as he looked down into her wide eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked.

"No," Jill shook her head. "That was good. Don't stop."

"Well," Christian chuckled. "You've got a higher tolerance for pain and weird things than a lot of people give you credit for, don't you?"

"Yes," Jill nodded. "I would say I do. "You're not done, are you?"

"Not if you don't want me to be," Christian assured her. "Not by a long shot." They then repeated their first experience in their bed, only this time the lights were on and Jill wasn't blindfolded. Her eyes stayed locked on his as he pleasured her with slow, gentle rubs.

"Give me more than that," she begged, her voice breathy. "I want more."

"How much more?" He asked.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Let's just see where it goes."

He then began licking her, smiling at every little noise of pleasure that came out of her mouth.

"Oh, keep going," she urged when he dared pause for a few seconds. "I'm not done yet. I'm nearly there."

"I'm surprised you even know where 'there' is," he said dryly. She then grabbed his hand and began sucking on his finger. He shut his eyes as he felt his cock pulse in rhythm with her mouth, and he began to strongly wish her mouth was elsewhere on his body.

"Oh, I know what 'there' is," Jill smiled and released his finger. "Believe me."

He smirked and then resumed licking her until he felt the twitch and her gasp as she began to orgasm over and over. It definitely wasn't fake, that was for sure.

When her body became still and her breathing calm, he leaned over her and kissed her. "Do I get a turn now?" He asked. "Or is it just my finger that gets to have all the fun?"

"Well, I don't know," Jill smirked and then slipped off his boxers, throwing them into the pile with her own pajamas. "Let's see." She began stroking him with one hand and holding his hand with the other. "Am I doing good?" She whispered in his ear and nibbled on his earlobe.

"You're going to kill me!" Christian told her. "I know I said it before, but now I really mean it!" He finally let out a growl and grabbed her, pulling her underneath him and parting her legs. But just as he was about to slip inside her, they heard the doorbell ring and a loud voice ring out.

"Christian! It's your mother! I wanna talk to you!"

"Oh, damn, it's my mother," Christian scoffed and pushed back his hair as he and Jill, both flushed, separated and tried to calm themselves down so Freya wouldn't ask any questions. "Let's get our robes on and go see what she wants." He gave Jill a keen look though. "We're not done with this, though. I think we were on to something."  
"Yeah," Jill nodded as she zapped her clothes back on. "I really think we were."

* * *

"Good morning," Jill greeted Freya not long after her arrival. Freya had come to the apartment during breakfast to check on her son cause she hadn't spoken to or seen him in a while and wanted to know what he was up to. "Would you like something to eat? Or are you just a blood person?"

"No, I can eat," Freya nodded. "But…who are you? Are you Jill?"

"Yes," Christian nodded as he came to stand behind her. "This is Jill, Mother. Come in and tell us what we can do for you. Are you here on a social call or did you come to spy for Father?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I have no plans to do anything more for your father?" Freya snapped irritably. "What I've done for your father is over and I don't intend to repeat the experience."

"So I don't get any siblings?" Christian asked sarcastically. "Damn."

"Do I get to eat or what?" Freya asked. "You can't offer me food and not give it to me."

"Yes, come sit down," Jill nodded. "Coffee?"

"If he's making you do stuff for him, run now," Freya advised as she put her napkin in her lap. "Run far away. And yes, I would love some coffee."

Jill poured it for her and then said with a smile, "Thanks for the advice about your son, but I think I can handle him without it."

"Oh, I don't know, cupcake," Freya scoffed, looking at the innocent-appearing blonde. "It takes a special sort of person to handle a guy like him. If I can't even handle his father, being who I am, I don't see much hope for you."

"Thanks for your concern," Jill told her, trying to keep her voice pleasant. "But there's really nothing for you to worry about."

"Fine," Freya told her. "Don't heed my advice. It's your funeral."

"I know," Jill replied, locking eyes with Christian. "But I'm here anyway. Better it end with me than someone else."

"Oh, you're so naive it's cute," Freya told her.

"Did you just come here to insult people, or are you actually gonna be friendly at some point?" Christian questioned.

"I am being plenty friendly!" Freya defended herself. "I don't want her to feel like she has to find herself in the same mess I'm in because of some ridiculous urge to save a humanity that's never gonna be grateful for it."

This made Christian's lips become a thin line as his eyes narrowed. He'd been calmly drinking his coffee before, but now, he took the cup away from his lips and brought it down so hard on the table that it shattered and both Jill and Freya moved out of the way just in time to avoid being hit with hot coffee or sharp shards of coffee cup. Then, without another word, he got up and strode off.

Freya stared after him and for a moment, Jill thought she was gonna try and apologize, but instead, she just shrugged and went back to her breakfast.

"Aren't you gonna go after him?" Jill asked in shock.

"Well, what would I say if I did?" Freya demanded. "He's not gonna like anything I tell him, so what's the point?"

"Even if he's not gonna like what you say, you should at least try and make amends!" Jill shook her head. "No wonder he's so messed up if he can't even count on his parents to respect him." She zapped up the shards of coffee cup, gave Freya an impatient sigh, and then went to join Christian, who was putting pajamas back on and climbing into bed. "Hey," she said, climbing in bed next to him. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Christian shook his head and burrowed under the blanket. "Did my mother go? Is she gone?"

"No, not yet," Jill informed him as she played with his hair. "I think she's still eating."

"You didn't tell her to go away before you came in here?" Christian got up, threw on a bathrobe, and muttered, "Damn it, why do I have to do everything around here?"

Miffed, but not wanting to say anything because Christian was already in bad enough spirits, Jill stayed behind, listening to the shouting match that ensued between mother and son that carried from the kitchen, down the hallway, and through the bedroom door that was still open. Then, there was the loud slamming of a door, and for a moment, there was silence before Christian stomped back to the bedroom, threw off his robe, and climbed back into bed, flopping on the mattress.

"I don't believe her," he scoffed. "I actually hugged her once because I thought she was a nice person. Now I wish I could take that back. She doesn't deserve it at all."

"You hugged your mother?" Jill asked, her voice full of surprise. "Really? I never thought you were open enough to do something like that."

"I'm not," Christian told her, his voice hard as he turned to face her. "That requires emotions, and being able to feel and I can't. Father didn't want me to."

"Oh, I don't believe that," Jill told him. "I think you can feel very much when you want to. Are you saying that when you and I are together, you feel _nothing_?"

Christian's eyes widened and he began choking and coughing, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "Don't ask me to explain what I feel when I'm with you. Cause I don't know myself. It…it's just a very strange thing."

Jill grinned widely. "Oh? Interesting. Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"No," Christian shook his head. "I would not. And if you ever want me to, I suggest you don't push me."

"All right," Jill replied and lay down beside him, her arms encircling him. "You get your rest now. I'll be here beside you the whole time."

"You will?" Christian whispered and shut his eyes. "Do you promise?"

"Yes," Jill swore. "I do."

* * *

"So…" John told Freya later after sneaking in while Mikael and Gwen were out. "Can we talk?"

"No," Freya shook her head. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you. I've had a lousy day and talking to you will just make it worse."

"I'm not here to cause trouble," John told her. "I just want you and me to take time and bond with Christian. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I've done that already and I'm sure he wouldn't let you anywhere near his place," Freya replied. "Go away."

"Is he living with a girl?" John asked. "I've heard things. Tell me if it's true."

"I don't think that's my business to say," Freya remarked. "But if he is, I really hope she'll tame those crazy emotions of his."

John heard this and chuckled. "What emotions? Those are such silly things. All they do is get in the way! My son is a warrior!"

" _Your_ son?" Freya narrowed her eyes and stomped on his foot. "Don't you act like I did nothing!"

"He _is_ with a girl, isn't he?" John demanded, eyes wide as he winced and hopped on one leg. "We have to stop it! That's no good!"

"No, we won't do any such thing," Freya replied and pushed him out the door, locking it behind him. "Goodbye!"

Once the door was closed behind him, John got up and dusted himself off, mentally preparing for Edele to be around when he got back to his own house. Whenever something bad happened with Freya, she usually was, and this time would probably be no exception.

* * *

"I _knew_ it!" He exclaimed when he popped into his office and found his dark-haired ex lounging on in his desk chair. "I knew you would be around when I got home. When things get bad with Freya, you always are!"

"Things are going bad with Freya?" Edele asked dryly as she put her feet up on his desk. "Really? That's completely new information!"

"What do you want?" John asked. "I'm in too bad of a mood to deal with you for too long. Unless you came here to die that is. Cause I'd be more than happy to grant that request."

"Now, now," Edele clicked her tongue. "Is that the way to talk to a woman you loved once?"

"Tell me what you want," John repeated. "Or go away."

"Oh, all right," Edele replied. "It's not anything you'll want to hear, but I think you need to. And it will take your mind off of Freya!"

"What is it?" John asked, really wishing she would just get to the point. His head was beginning to hurt."

"You know those kids from my brother's coven that you kidnapped to use as leverage against him and foil his plan?" Edele asked. "Well…they're gone. They've been released."

"What?" John cried. "Damn it, Edele!" He reached out and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing tighter and tighter. "Don't tell me you had anything to do with this."

Edele managed to move her head a little and he dropped her on the floor where she clutched her throat and coughed. "I'm just the messenger," she said. "I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Well, then who did?" John asked. "Surely if you know it happened, you can figure out who did it." He narrowed his eyes. "Although I have a few ideas as to the identity of the culprit."

"Your son Junior," Edele confirmed. "Did you think it was him?"

"Yes," John nodded. "And now I'm going to have to teach him what happens when you mess with me. I didn't want to, but he's forced my hand."

"Ooooh!" Edele got up and leaned across his desk. "What are you gonna do? It sounds juicy!"

"That's my business," he told her. "Not yours." Then zapped her out of his office and thought about what he was going to do next.

* * *

After a few days of living with Damon and seeing that he really _did_ mean it when he said that the door of his bedroom would only be open for her, it was after taking a deep breath that she made her way to his door.

"Yes?" He asked, genuinely surprised by the sight of her. "What can I do for you?"

Annie just stared at him a long time and then swallowed, grabbing and kissing him before she lost her nerve.

When they pulled apart, his eyes were wide with shock and she was grinning. "Would you mind," she asked firmly, "if I spent the night with you? You say the door is always open and now…now that I know that you mean it, I…I wanna take you up on it?"

"You do?" Damon asked and then removed his shirt, pulling her inside. "Sure. I have no objection to that."

"Good," Annie smiled, undressed herself, and then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. "That's what I hoped you would say."

He put a finger against her lips to hush her before he picked her up and carried her to his bed, laying her down on the mattress and looking down into her eyes. "Stay," he whispered and then got out of bed to undress himself when he was sure she was watching.

"Well," he said as he held his arms out. "What do you think?"

Annie smiled. "Well, I can't say I don't like what I see," she replied. "Now get over here, will you?" She waved her hand and he was propelled forward until he knocked into the mattress and she had to grab his hand to stop him from falling forward. Then she pulled him up, pulled his body against hers, and kissed him. Then he moved his lips from hers and kissed down her neck, letting her fall back onto the pillow as he kissed further and further down her body. He then paused and sucked gently on each one of her nipples until she gasped while rubbing her gently at the same time.

"Yes, keep doing that," she whispered. "I like it."

"Good," Damon smiled. "Good."

After she'd experienced release, he took her in his arms and let her catch her breath as she lay her head on his shoulder. "That was good," she said.

"I'm glad," he told her. "Do you wanna be done, or…?"

"No," she shook her head and gave him a wide smile, falling back on the pillow again. "I'm not done. I don't think you are, either, are you?"

"No," Damon shook his head. "Not really."

"I thought not," Annie replied, a wild twinkle in her eye that he found immensely arousing. He loomed over her for a few seconds, a grin on his face before she kissed him and then he grabbed her and whispered, "I want to take you now, you beautiful woman. Are you ready?"

"Oh, yes!" Annie whispered as he buried himself inside her and she pulled at his dark hair. "Go ahead and take me now." He did just that, filling her over and over again until they were lying beside each other on his mattress, sweaty and exhausted. As they stared at one another and tried to catch their breaths, he took her hand and kissed it. "Did you get your money's worth?" He asked. "Cause I can try harder if you want."

"No, no," Annie shook her head. "It was a very good start," she said. "Let's just work _up_ to try harder, shall we?"

"All right," Damon nodded and kissed her again. "We shall."


	54. The Antidote To A Bad Day

After his encounter with Junior, Christian was still in a frame of mind to cause trouble, and since his mother had been a pain in his ass before, he decided that she would be the next recipient of his anger. But when he got to his grandparents' house, he didn't see her anywhere, so he had to confront his grandfather about her whereabouts.

"Is she really not here?" He questioned. "Or are you hiding her because she doesn't want to see me?"

"I'm not hiding her anywhere!" Mikael cried. "She's going out. She's having a life! She's entitled to deal with more than just you, you know. She doesn't always have to be at your beck and call."

Christian scoffed at this. "Based on her visit to my own apartment the other day, she doesn't feel like I deserve the same courtesy. Tell me where my mother is. _Now._ "

"Or what will you do?" Mikael asked. "Kill me? I'd like to see you try."

"Do you really?" Christian replied as he got up in his grandfather's face. "Don't say anything you don't mean. Cause if you want me to try, I will. And it will hurt."

He waited for Mikael to be terrified, but he wasn't. Instead, Mikael grabbed him by the arm and pushed him to the floor. "You dare threaten me, boy? No wonder your mother doesn't like you."

That did it. That made something in Christian's mind snap. He got up, grabbed Mikael, and then sank his fangs into his throat, sucking greedily. Then he dropped him on the floor and proceeded to kick him over and over until a voice broke his concentration.

"What in the world is going on here?" Freya asked. "Christian, what are you doing to my father?"

"Beating the crap out of him," Christian replied, sounding remotely unaffected. "Should that surprise you? And then after I do that, I'm gonna put a spell on him so that when I do away with him, everyone he's ever turned is going to disappear!" He then burst into laughter.

"Are you done?" Freya asked after a minute or so of this. "You know, for someone who wants so badly to be loved and accepted as part of his family, you're really not trying very hard."

"Oh, and I'm the one who has to do all the work and make you all happy?" Christian scoffed. "Why don't you have to do anything for me? I'm the one who's being hated and maligned and called a monster by everyone. So you hate my father. Why do I have to pay for that? Why is it that every time you look at me, all you do is see _him_?" He paused and stepped away from Mikael, giving his grandfather the space to sit up and breathe.

Freya said nothing, so he got in her face and yelled, "Answer me, Mother!"

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Freya wanted to know. "Or do you want me to concoct a lie so that you'll feel better about yourself?"

"Just tell me the truth," Christian replied. "I don't want to be lied to anymore."

"I aligned myself with your father not because I loved him, but because he had power and I wanted it," Freya explained. "I've always felt rejected by my family and he gave me the attention and future that I've always wanted. But what I had to do in return…that was have you. I thought it would be simple, but it turned out to be a more complicated thing than I bargained for."

"What in the hell does that mean?" Christian spat. "You claim to have spent your whole life feeling like an outcast, yet you have no sympathy for your son who feels the same way? Is there even a _small_ part of you that loves me? Could you try? Cause if you can't, that's what I need Jill for."

Freya chuckled. "And when she realizes just how dark you can be, how long do you think that will last? Really?"

"A lot longer than you think," Christian replied. "I'm going home to her now. I hate both of you."

"Goodbye, son!" Freya called and then jumped a mile in the air when Christian released a burst of magic that brought down the chandelier above Mikael's head with a loud crash (he had the wherewithal to jump out of the way in time) and create a gaping hole in the roof.

"I hope it rains tonight," Christian sniffed dismissively, and then slammed the door behind him before heading back home to the one person in the world that he thought really had some genuine affection for him: His Jill.

* * *

"And just where were you?" Jill snapped, hands on her hips as she strode up to Christian after he shut the door behind him and announced that he'd returned. "What sort of trouble were you causing?"

Christian quickly zapped up some flowers and produced them from behind his back. "What makes you think I was causing trouble? For all you know, I was only out getting these flowers for you."

"I can't believe you're daring to bullshit me like that!" Jill cried, pushing the flowers to the ground and stomping on them. "Don't lie!"

"How do you know I'm lying?" Christian asked.

" _Psychic powers_!" Jill cried and knocked on his head. "Remember? I can sense stuff! I see it! And I know you were causing trouble, so what did you do? Tell me! Tell me why there was so much loud noise and shouting and pain!"

"If you're psychic, wouldn't you know by now?" Christian asked. "Leave me alone, would you? I'm not having a good day."

"Tell me what you did and I will," she said, jumping on his back and pulling his hair. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"All right," Christian sighed wearily. "But remember that you _asked_ to be told, even though you probably won't like anything I have to say."

"Tell me," Jill repeated. "And don't leave anything out."

He dumped her on the sofa and then sat next to her, looking in her eyes. "All right," he said. "First, I visited my brother Sean and since I was feeling angry, I threatened the lives of both his fiancée Sarah and his mother. Then, when that didn't get the reaction that I wanted because that brother of mine is made out of surprisingly tough stuff, I went to see my grandfather. I beat him up and told him that I would make every vampire he ever created disappear. And while I was doing that, Mother showed up and picked a fight with me."

"Did you hurt her too?" Jill asked, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"No," Christian shook his head. "But really, I wish I had. It would have made me feel good." He paused. "So now you know what I did. Just as I thought, you're not happy about it."

"Of course I'm not happy about it!" Jill raged and kicked him in the shins. "Did you think I'd be happy that you're out there victimizing people?" She began grabbing some of his knickknacks off his shelves and hurling them at him, along with heavy leather-bound books she got off his bookshelves. "You are a real fucking monster, you know that?"

He deftly avoided all flying objects and sped over to grab the copy of _Moby Dick_ that was about to come his way out of her hand. "Why are you acting so shocked?" He asked. "You think that one night in bed with you is gonna change me into an angel? Don't have such a high opinion of yourself. You're not that good. Your technique definitely needs work."

She growled and zapped up a few more things to throw at him (one being a small red vase that actually made contact with his eye) and then said, "Fine, if I'm not good enough for you, if you want someone with more experience, I'll just leave and give you the opportunity to find them. It doesn't bother me."

He watched her go and when he saw her strode out into the hallway, he realized she was serious. He ran out, grabbed her, and then sank his fangs into her neck, his bite filling her body with venom that would put her to sleep and give him just enough time to bring her back to where he wanted her.

* * *

Christian looked down at the semi-conscious Jill for a moment as she lay on their bed, slowly coming out of the venom's grip and then slowly undressed her. He hadn't wanted to bite her because he was dangerous when he bit, much more dangerous than a vampire. But she'd wanted to leave, and he couldn't have that. This was the only way to keep her where she was so he could show her just how wrong she was about him. That he could be good if given a chance.

"What's happening?" She asked. "Why…what…I don't feel good."

"You're fine," he told her. "Just take some deep breaths and you'll be all right." He tied her wrists to the bedposts and then zapped up a glass of water, which he splashed her face with, bringing her back to consciousness.

"Fuck you!" She screamed as she looked at him with a fiery gaze. "Fuck you, you god damn son of a bitch! You motherfucking bastard! You shit head, you asshole, you…" she went on like this for some time, and eventually, Christian just tuned it out. She didn't mean it anyway. People said things they didn't mean all the time when they were angry.

"Are you done?" He asked at last. "Cause there are things I would much rather do with your mouth than listen to curses come out of it." He then undressed, pulled the covers aside, and got into bed with her.

"And what is it you want?" She asked. "I hope you aren't expecting me to be nice to you or anything. I'm not going to be as generous as I was to you the other day."

"Oh, I don't need you to be," Christian told her, looming over her. "If I was expecting you to do anything for me, you wouldn't be tied up, would you?"

"Yeah, about that," Jill squirmed and strained against the ropes that bound her wrists. "I don't like this! Let me go!"

"Now, now," he said and kissed her lightly, "Just relax. It won't be any fun if you're tense."

"What are you gonna do to me?" She asked. "I think I have a right to know."

"And spoil the surprise?" He asked. "I think not."

"Are you going to blindfold me like last time?" Jill questioned. "Turn off the lights?"

"No, darling, he said, his lips right against her ear for a moment before he nibbled on her earlobe. "This time I want you to see everything." He then zapped up a candle, and as it floated before him, he lit it.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Jill asked.

"Stop asking that question, cause you know I'm not going to tell you," he replied and then tipped the candle downward so that the warm wax dripped all over her legs and thighs.

This made Jill chuckle nervously. "If you wanted me to groom myself a little better before we did this, you could have just said so."

That made him groan and decide that he needed to gag her. Then he touched the flame to her skin. She let out a muffled scream, but to her credit, there were no tears. Just lots of straining against pain and heat. Then he blew the candle out, bit his wrist, ripped off the gag, and ordered her to drink the blood from his wound to heal the burns she'd just gotten.

When she'd done that, she spat at him. "What the hell was that?" She asked

He wiped it off and said calmly, "That's a fine way to treat someone who just healed you."

"Well, you gave me the fucking injury so I hope you would heal me!" Jill replied. "That's decent person behavior. Not that you would know much about that. Now, if you're gonna take advantage of me, you might as well do it so we can get this over with and move on with our lives."

"Hey!" He shouted and gave her a slap. "You can think I'm despicable for many reasons, but I would like to think that as bad as I am, I know better than to treat the one decent person in my life as badly as that."

"Aren't you a prince?" Jill deadpanned. "I'm so lucky. But I'm truly serious about getting this over with. I'm not really in the mood. If you have to, do it in a position where I don't have to face you."

"Are you being kinky, or do you mean it?" He asked.

"Oh, I mean it," she said earnestly. "I don't want to look at you. Not this time."

"Fine," Christian replied. "Whatever you say." He put the gag back on her and then flipped her over onto her stomach, entering her over and over again.

She lay as still as possible underneath him at first, but then she began pushing back when he pushed forward, giggling as she pulled off the gag. "How's that?" She asked. "Not so easy now, is it?"

Interested by her change of mood, he pulled out of her and turned her back onto her back. Her eyes were sparkling and there was a smile on her face. "That wasn't as bad as I thought," she admitted and pulled him down to kiss her. After he pulled out of that kiss, he continued a trail down her neck and chest, pausing to suck on her nipples and stomach. "You're so hot," he observed.

"You seem surprised by that," she panted, her hips bucking forward.

"Let me help," he offered. He soon had a hunk of ice in his mouth and was slowly sliding it along the warm skin of her belly.

"There you go," she whispered, her hips bucking forward as she felt her body cool. "That's good. I like that."

Then, once the ice melted, he buried himself inside her as she let out a cry, threw her arms around his neck, and pulled his face into her chest. Like he'd done when she was on her stomach, he filled her over and over again, savoring every grunt and squeak that came out of her mouth. And just like she'd promised, she kept her eyes open the whole time.

* * *

Finally, he rolled off her.

"You had enough?" She asked and ran her fingers through his hair. "Did I wear you out?"

"We'll be going again in a few minutes," he promised with a smile as he reached between her legs and gave her a rub. "Don't you worry."

"Good," Jill smiled and then gave a little grunt as she felt herself orgasm from his rubbing. "But can we turn the lights off this time? I feel more that way."

"You're kind of a freak, aren't you?" Christian smiled.

"Maybe I am," Jill grinned and put a finger to her lips. "But don't tell anyone."

"I won't," he promised as he played with her damp hair. "It'll be our little secret."


	55. In The Early Morning Light

That night, Jill was full of adrenaline because of how physical she and Christian had been. She really hadn't realized how much energy she had until she'd met him. When she managed to fall asleep, it was just for a little while, and then her eyes popped open again, a few hours later, noticing that her stomach was grumbling loudly. She tried to ignore it because what sort of weirdo got up to eat in the middle of the night or early in the morning? Since it was one or two am, it was technically incorrect to call it 'night'. But the growling was persistent and finally, she grunted and sat up, hopping off the bed and taking in a sharp breath as her bare feet touched the floor. She quickly grabbed the first articles of clothing she could get her hands on (a shirt and a pair of boxers out of the drawers of a nearby dresser), put them on, and ran to the kitchen, grabbing several things out of the refrigerator, out of the cupboards, and off the counter.

"Need some help with all that?" asked a voice that made her let out a shriek as Christian reached out and grabbed the tray of food just before she dropped it.

"Thanks," she replied. "And I'm sorry I woke you."

"No, it's fine," Christian told her. "Can I ask why you're eating at this early hour in the morning?"

"I was hungry," Jill explained. "You worked me pretty hard yesterday. You seem to be able to handle that sort of a workout a lot better than I can."

"Yeah, and you know, I really can't explain why," Christian agreed. He then said, "Would you rather eat this back in the bedroom? It feels odd sitting here at the table like this at this time of night."

"Sure," Jill agreed and stood up. He followed after her with the tray in hands, asking as they walked, "Are you wearing my clothes? That's unexpected."

Jill blushed a little, but since he was behind her (and staring intently at her ass, no doubt) he didn't see it. "Well, as you can well remember, I wasn't wearing any clothes when we finally fell asleep, so like you and that bathrobe you're wearing, when I got up to eat, I grabbed some stuff from your dresser to throw on and this was it. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Oh, no, please keep doing it," Christian insisted. "I like it. I think it's sexy."

"Even if it means your clothes will have girl smell all over them?" Jill asked.

Christian put the tray down on the floor then and grabbed Jill, pulling her against his body backwards and sniffing her neck and hair. "If you ask me," he whispered in her ear while she gasped. "I like the way you smell. I don't mind it at all." He gave her a spank and a slight shove and then grabbed the food tray as they continued their way back to their bedroom.

"It's better to eat in here," Jill remarked as she spread some Nutella over toast. "The living room and kitchen are a mess. I wonder how that happened?" She locked eyes with Christian as she said this and took a bite of bread.

"Well, allow me to enlighten you," Christian replied before taking some of the chocolate spread on his finger and then licking it off. "A beautiful but very tempestuous woman decided to pick a fight with me and messed up my house in a fury, even after I bought a bunch of pretty flowers for her. I haven't had time to clean up yet."

"Oh?" Jill asked, raising an eyebrow. "Anyone I know?"

"I don't think so," Christian replied and kissed her as his fingers threaded through her hair. "You would never associate with such an evil-tempered person."

"You're joking, right?" Jill asked and took a bite out of an apple, the juice dribbling down her chin as she chewed.

"Of course I'm joking, Christian replied as he pulled her to himself and tried to kiss her. But she giggled as she moved her head and stuck some celery in his mouth instead.

"Oh, god," He said and spit it out all over the covers. "How can you give me vegetables when I want a kiss? That's just mean!"

Jill chuckled. "And now the mushed up, spit-covered celery can join the crumbs all over the mattress."

"There," Christian replied and brushed the offending crumbs onto the floor. "All gone." He turned to face her, a smug grin curving his lips. "Give me a _real_ kiss now."

"No," Jill replied, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him. He then grabbed her and caught his mouth with hers, their tongues and lips mingling as he zapped the rest of the food away, pushed her back onto the mattress, and rolled up her shirt to kiss the soft skin of her belly as he slipped his hand into the boxers she wore.

* * *

As they held each other later, he said in a joking tone, "That was some fun we had yesterday and just now. I know you told me you were a virgin before, but are you sure? Is there something you're not telling me? Cause if I may say, you're awfully experienced for someone who claims to have never done anything like that before."

He then felt Jill stiffen in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and began shaking her head.

"What's the matter, babe?" He asked, his eyes displaying worry. "Did I say something wrong? I was just making a joke. If you…if you want to talk to me, you can."

"You're right," she blurted out, the shine in her eyes clear proof that she was trying not to cry. "I'm not. I'm not a virgin." She sighed. "Last year…there was a guy. It's the same story that every brokenhearted girl seems to have: I thought I loved him, I opened up, I gave him everything I had (and I do mean _everything_ ) and then the next day, he acted like he didn't even know me." Her voice did break then. "And he even told everyone about my visions. Do you know how awkward it is when you're a person at a human school who has visions?!"

He held her close and rocked her gently, whispering into her hair, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"That's why I told you I was a virgin," she sniffled. "Cause pretending that mess never happened is the only way I don't feel like total crap all the time. I didn't even tell anyone in my family. You're the only one who knows."

He held her close and said, "Well, that guy is an idiot. I can't believe someone would be such an ass as to hurt someone as good as you. Want me to hunt him down and kill him for you?"

"Are you still gonna do it even if I don't give you permission?" Jill asked.

"Yes," Christian replied firmly. "Yes, I am."

"All right," Jill nodded. "But when you find him, I want to see what you do to him. I wanna watch."

"I have no problem with that whatsoever," Christian replied. "Hell, I'll even let you help if you want to."

"No," Jill shook her head. "I don't think I can go that far. Just watching will be enough for now."

Christian shook his head and said, "After being with a big jerk that hurt you so badly, I don't see how you can even stand to be near me. I'm no better. Certainly no Prince Charming."

"Yes, you are," Jill told him. "I know that eventually things are gonna get difficult between us for whatever reason, but for now….thank you. Thank you for all you've done. Thank you for letting me know that I'm allowed to feel things I've never felt before. That it's okay for me to be freaky and weird and that there's nothing wrong with that." She hugged him tight. "Thank you, thank you, _thank_ you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jill was not the only one who was having trouble sleeping.

"Darling?" Elijah asked when he woke up in bed alone and then found Selina sitting in his office chair at four a.m. and sneaking his scotch after breaking into the safe. "Darling, what's the matter? Why don't you come back to bed?"

"I know I should," Selina agreed. "But I just…sitting around and waiting for someone to come and kill us is not working for me. If it's gonna happen, it should happen now. We know Freya hates me, so if I asked nicely, do you think she'd be willing to make my death quick and painless? I know you want to die together like the people in that opera who end up buried alive…what's it called again?"

" _Aida_ ," Elijah supplied as he came and picked her up so he could sit in the chair and then sat her back down on his lap.

"Yeah, exactly," Selina nodded. "But I can't help it. I'm a big chicken about dying. You would think that poison would be a quick way to go, but I convulsed and screamed all that for quite some time. I don't want it to happen again."

"No, I'm sure you don't," Elijah agreed and stroked her hair as she re-positioned herself and laid her head on his shoulder. He then looked at the sofa bed that was always pulled out and waiting and said, "Let's lie down. You don't have to fall asleep, but wouldn't you be more comfortable with the covers over you than sitting in a chair all night?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded and hopped off his lap before settling down in bed. "I'm sorry I broke into your office and stole your scotch. I know this is your private space and it was wrong of me to intrude."

Elijah sighed and lay down next to her. "Thank you for apologizing," he said and pulled her to him so she could snuggle against his bare chest, the warmth of his body calming her currently rapid heartbeat. "But I can understand why you felt you needed to. We're all on edge now, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "And I hate it."

"Yes," Elijah nodded and kissed her hair. "I hate it too."


	56. A Runaway Wedding

"Where were you?" Drew asked Clarissa as he met her at school following a date they'd set at the skinny-dipping pond that she'd skipped. "Do you know how stupid I felt being naked in that pond all by myself? It was dark and cold and I just…why?"

"I have a very good reason," Clarissa told him. "I couldn't get out of the house. My parents kept me otherwise occupied."

"With what?" Drew asked. "What could possibly have been so important that you skipped skinny-dipping night?" He shouted this last part very loudly and it caused some people walking by to stare at them.

"My…my parents picked out a fiancé for me," Clarissa told him quietly. "Even after what happened with Blake. Or maybe even _because_ of what happened to Blake. He still hasn't come back yet."

"Well, do you want to marry the man?" Drew asked.

"No," Clarissa said immediately. "Definitely not. But I'll have to. Oh, god, this is terrible!"

"What if you can't marry him?" Drew asked. "What if it would be bigamy if you married him because you'd already married someone else?"

Clarissa's eyes widened. "You mean…?"

"This wasn't how I was hoping to do it," Drew told her as he got on one knee. "But, Clarissa Shaw, will you marry me?"

"Oh, my god," Clarissa put a hand to her chest and looked around as people stared. "I would love to marry you. Do you have a ring?"

He took her hand and he brought her to his locker where he opened the door and then after moving some stuff aside, pulled out a small safe, quickly undid it, and pulled out a small black box with a diamond ring in it. "Is this good enough?" he asked. "I mean, you're rich, so you've probably seen better, but…"

"No!" Jill gasped. "I love it!" She gave a little jump as he slipped it on her finger. "Can I ask how you got the money for it? Or is that tacky?"

"No, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to know where it came from," Drew replied. "As soon as I met you, I talked to my father about finding a source of income so I could buy things like rings and good furniture, and he directed me to a job after school at one of his companies and I've made money that way. That's how I got the ring. And Dad chipped in a little too. I hope that doesn't matter?"

"Of course it doesn't matter!" Clarissa replied and hugged him. "I'm just shocked beyond belief that from the first day you met me, you plotted with your father to get me a ring. You must really know what you want."

"Yeah," Drew replied and kissed her as he pulled her close. "I do know what I want, and when I find it, I don't let it go, no matter what obstacles are standing in my way."

"You mean like my parents?" Clarissa clarified.

"Yes," Drew nodded and smelled her hair. "Exactly like your parents."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Christian asked as he came up behind Jill while she was studying.

"I'm doing schoolwork," Jill explained. "Just because I've been kidnapped, it's not an excuse for me to neglect my education."

"How long will you be doing that?" Christian asked.

"Until I've felt like I've learned something," Jill explained. "Now, will you please go away so I can concentrate?"

"How long will you be studying?" Christian asked again and blew in Jill's ear. "Cause I have needs."

"Of course you have needs," Jill told him. "But I can't be at your beck and call every minute. I need to have some time for myself."

Christian pouted. "I don't like you having fun without me," he protested.

"Learning stuff isn't fun!" Jill exclaimed.

Christian turned her chair around and grinned at her. "What if I was your teacher and you're the bad student who's failing her lessons? Then would it be more fun?"

Jill cocked her head. "Maybe," she answered and let him push her back over her books as he unzipped his pants and grinned as he looked down at her.

"If this is what I have to do to pass my class, I want you to know that I'm totally okay with that," Jill said and giggled. "Does this guarantee that I'll pass?"

Christian kissed her. "The more meetings we have like this, the higher your grade with be!"

Jill pushed all the stuff off the desk to give Christian more space and then pulled her up so she could wrap his arms around him and he could slip inside her, then when he was buried in deep, he lay her back on the desk and after putting a hand around her throat and lightly choking her, he began pushing into her over and over again.

"Oh!" She cried. "Oh, yes!" She reached her arms behind her and stretched out, making her feel as if he were filling her more completely. He then leaned forward and ripped her blouse open, sending buttons flying everywhere and then leaning down to gently suck on her nipples and massage her breasts. "This is good! This is a much more interesting lesson than what I'm learning before. But like you say, I'm gonna need a lot of tutoring."

Christian paused and said, "You know that eventually you'll have to show me what you learned, right?"

"Oh, I would love to," Jill smiled as he pushed into her again. "It would be my pleasure!"

When she was finally panting from exhaustion and clutching Christian as he held on to her so she wouldn't fall off the desk, she said, "I think…I think I should go back to studying now."

"Oh, fine," Christian sighed and carried her back to the chair, handing her the panties she'd thrown on the floor and zapping all her books and papers back on the desk. "I'm only giving you this break so I can catch my breath, though. Let me know when you're done." He paused. "Oh, and I'm gonna get myself something to eat. You want something?"

"Yes, I need to eat," Jill nodded. "But I'll get it myself. I really don't think I can be around you anymore. You're a terrible influence."

"Am I?" Christian smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "That's surprising. I think I behaved myself pretty well."

"I'm serious this time," Jill told him firmly. "Let me study for an hour and then I'll pay attention to you again."

"Do you swear?" Christian asked.

"Yes," Jill nodded, grabbing his face and giving him a kiss. "I do." Then she came around and gave him a spank. "Now get moving."

"Oh, all right," Christian told her as she pushed him out the door. "But just remember that I like it rough. This isn't exactly a turn-off for me."

"Yeah, I know," Jill replied before she shut the door and went back to her books. "Believe me, I get it."

* * *

"Thanks so much for agreeing to come with us and be part of our special day," Drew told Percy and Stephanie as they and Clarissa headed toward Vegas over lunch. "It really means a lot."

"Of course," Percy told him. "Like I would miss my best friend getting married."

"Do Mom and Dad know you're doing this?" Stephanie asked her brother. "Do you think you should have said something to them?"

"No," Drew shook his head. "Because Dad would just try and stop me and you know how stressed Mom's been about her possible impending doom. This would just add more problems. It'll be better to tell them after."

"Do you think they'll hate me for marrying you?" Clarissa questioned.

"No," Drew replied. "I have a feeling that your parents will hate me more as a son-in-law than my parents will hate you as a daughter-in-law."

"Is it really that bad?" Stephanie asked of Clarissa.

"Well, considering that they just picked a guy out for me to marry, yes," Clarissa told her. "But I don't care how angry they are if it means I get to marry the guy I want."

When they got stuck in a traffic jam, Clarissa got impatient and just zapped them to Vegas, where they parked outside of a chapel, grabbed each other's hands, and went inside, pausing just inside the door as Clarissa gave Drew a smile. "I can't believe we're really gonna do this. It's insane!"

"Do you not want to?" Drew asked, not picking up on the fact that she was excited. "Cause we can leave right now and do it later if you're not ready."

"No, I want to do it now!" Clarissa cried and then turned to look at her future sister-in-law and friend. "And no one else objects, right? Everyone is gonna hold their peace?"

"Yes," Percy and Stephanie both assured her at the same time.

"Good luck! Go get your man!" Stephanie added, thinking that she was going to have to call her father as soon as this was all over cause the longer they waited, the more shocked he would be, and that would not lend itself to a happy wedding day for her brother.

When they were called, Drew and Clarissa went up to the front of the chapel with Stephanie and Percy standing next to them. Because the idea had come to them so quickly, they went with traditional vows instead of ones they made themselves, but that didn't make it any less romantic.

After the vows, the organ music swelled and Clarissa and Drew clutched one another close and kissed over and over, only pausing so that they could all sign the marriage license.

"Well, isn't this nice?" Stephanie told Percy. "So happy. So wonderful."

"Yeah," Percy put his arm around her. "It is." Then he saw the look on her face. "What's the matter?"

"Now I have the unenviable task of calling my parents and telling them what happened," Stephanie replied. "I mean, rightfully Drew should be doing this, but it's his wedding day and I don't want to bum him out, so I'll pick up the slack just this once."

"You want me to stand behind you and offer moral support?" Percy offered.

"Okay," Stephanie smiled, her dark eyes bright. "Thanks." She went a distance away from her brother and his new wife, took a deep breath, and then semi-chickened out and called her mother's phone instead, thinking that would be better because if anyone could keep her father on an even keel, it was her mother. But unfortunately, the person who answered the call was her father.

"Hello?"

"Dad, what are you doing with Mom's phone?" Stephanie asked. "I _did_ call Mom's phone, right?"

"Yes, but she stepped out to go to the bathroom," Elijah replied. "What's going on? Is there some sort of emergency? Why are you calling? Can't you just come to my classroom and tell me?"

"Well, that's the thing," Stephanie told him. "We're not at school; we're in Vegas. Drew, Clarissa, Percy, and I are in Vegas."

"And just why is that?" Elijah demanded. She could hear that he was trying so hard to keep his voice calm, but struggling.

"Drew and Clarissa wanted to get married so she wouldn't have to marry someone else," Stephanie explained. "I know we should have told you, but we only had so much time!"

Then she heard a click, a clatter, and a thump on the other end of the line. "Daddy?" She yelled. "Daddy, are you okay?"

She shouted into the phone until her mother picked it up a few minutes later. "My god," Selina said. "Stephanie Isabelle, what have you done to your father? He was passed out cold when I found him and when I woke him up, he was muttering something about betrayal."

"Drew and Clarissa decided they wanted to get married in Vegas today so she could escape an arranged marriage," Stephanie explained. "Percy and I went as their witnesses. I know we should have said something first, or picked a day to do it that didn't involve skipping school, and we're sorry, but the situation seemed urgent. You understand, right?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded, sighing deeply. "I do." Her mind then began to wander as she remembered exactly why that was…

" _All right," she said to Amelia after watching Damon's carriage pull away and head for home. "Go ahead, Mother. Be honest. Why are you so calm about my engagement to Damon? I thought you'd be upset about it."_

" _Why should I be upset?" Amelia asked. "The boy just announced that he's going to fight the Yankees. He'll most likely die on the battlefield. So what good would it do me to complain about it now? It won't last very long. Then we can move on with our lives and match you to someone more suitable. Like that charming Ethan Fell, for instance." She smiled with satisfaction, turning to go back to her sewing. She obviously wanted the matter to be considered closed, but Selina wasn't ready for that yet._

" _And there's the reason you're being so good about this!" She cried. "Cause you know that you just have to humor me until Damon's dead and then you can do whatever you want with my life."_

" _I'm only thinking of you," Amelia told her. "When I was your age, I was upset with my parents making me marry your father because I loved your uncle more, but in the end, I saw that they were right." She scoffed. "What sort of future would I have had with a rascal like your uncle, anyway? It was fortunate that he married your Aunt Abigail and then died before I did something foolish."_

 _Selina was about to spit out an angry reply, but paused as she studied her mother's face. This was one of the occasions where although Amelia would spout disdain for her past and proclaim how right her parents had been when they had arranged her marriage, if you looked into her eyes, you would see emotion that would contradict that: sadness, loss, uncertainty. Thinking about what might have been if Uncle Andrew hadn't been shot playing poker that fateful day eight years ago. Selina had learned long ago not to acknowledge that her mother had those emotions out loud or make her talk about them because then Amelia would just deny them or stop showing them all together, and she already had enough problems with her feelings as it was without getting rid of the few she still showed. So instead of being angry, she just inclined her head a little and said in a quiet voice, "Yes, Mother. That…that's very lucky."_

" _Why don't you go change for lunch?" Amelia suggested, looking at the clock. "Ethan and his parents will be here soon. With Damon's news, I completely lost track of the time."_

" _All right," Selina told her and went to dress while stroking the silver locket Damon had given her as an engagement token and telling herself that since she had that, it wouldn't be difficult to get through a lunch with the Fells and their insipid son. It wouldn't be hard at all._

"Mom?" The voice cried into the phone, pulling Selina out of 1864 and back into the present. "Mom, are you there? Did you hang up?"

"No, sorry," Selina quickly apologized. "I just…I was thinking about the past. Sorry, Stephanie."

"Is Daddy gonna be okay?" Stephanie wanted to know. "I heard a thump."

Selina looked at Elijah, who was sitting very still in his desk chair and glaring at his 'World's Best Husband' coffee mug as if it had deeply offended him. "Your news made him faint, but he's awake now. And you best be heading home as soon as you can so we can talk about this, all right?"

"What's there to talk about?" Stephanie asked. "It's already done."

"Just come home soon," Selina urged. "Please?"

"All right," Stephanie promised. "We'll be back before the end of the school day."

"Good," Selina told her. "See you then." She ended the call and said, "Well, how about that?"

"I can't believe our son would get married and not tell us first," Elijah huffed.

"Well, they had a good reason," Selina told him. "Arranged marriages are not pleasant."

"I understand that, but it's still not an excuse to go gallivanting off in the middle of a school day without saying a word to anyone," Elijah pointed out.

"Well, Stephanie promised they'd be home soon, and we can talk about it tonight," Selina assured her husband as she played with his hair. "I know you're mad, but…be nice, okay? When you think about everything else that's going on, this is not the worst thing that could happen. In fact, you could call it a delightful diversion if you wanted."

"Maybe," Elijah conceded. "But they still lied."

"They didn't _lie_ , they withheld information," Selina corrected. "That's different."

"I don't care what it is," Elijah thundered. "We're having a long family talk when we get home."

"I can't wait for that," Selina replied. "Sounds like lots of fun. I'll even bring cake. We can have cake while you berate them all for being irresponsible, can't we?"

"I suppose," Elijah sighed. "Not that it would stop you if I told you anything else."

"You're right," Selina kissed him and gave him a shoulder massage. "Now just try and relax and put your mind on something else until school is over, okay? You can do it!"

"All right," Elijah sighed. "It'll be difficult, but I guess I can do it."

"Good," Selina smiled and made her way to his classroom door. "That's what I want to hear."


	57. A Little Bit Of Danger

"Answer," Helene prayed as she listened to the ring after dialing Jill's phone number. "Answer. Please don't tell me that he threw away your phone."

"Hello?" Jill answered and Helene let out a relieved breath.

"Hello!" She cried happily. "I was just calling to check in. See if you're all right and everything."

Jill couldn't help but chuckle at this. "You know, in many cases where people get kidnapped, the families can't just call them up and check on them."

"Well, I think I should since we both know that part of why you're doing this is to help the Council get word on Christian," Helene reminded her. "And it would be cruel to use you as bait against him and not check on you from time to time. That's what my mother would say."

"Oh, right," Jill nodded and shut her eyes tight. She'd completely forgotten about the whole 'spying on Christian for the council' thing. "Thanks, that's very kind of you. Any other news?"

"Well, Malachai's last four coven children are here," Helene answered. "I mean, he says that's everyone, but who knows?"

"Are they nice?" Jill asked. "Maybe I can sneak out and meet them at some point."

"Oh, you should," Helene replied. "I think you'd like them."

"I think I would too," Jill agreed. "Don't worry. I'll be able to get away soon."

"Are you sure?" Helene questioned. "You _do_ remember how powerful and dangerous the guy you're living with is, right? Don't do anything that will get you hurt or killed. Cause if that happened, I would never forgive myself."

"You don't have to worry," Jill replied. "It'll all work out and no one will be hurt. I promise."

"All right," Helene sighed and tried to believe her. "Good luck. Take care of yourself."

"I will," Jill assured her. "I promise." She then ended the call and tried to think of a ruse so she could get out of the house without arousing Christian's suspicions, see her family, and then get back home and pretend like nothing had happened.

It took her a while, but finally, she hit upon a solution.

"Christian," she said in a breathy voice as she played with his hair. "I know that part of this whole thing between us is that you don't want me, you know, leaving the house a lot, but I was just thinking that maybe I could swing by the grocery store and pick up some things for a special dinner for the two of us? Is that a problem?"

"No," he said and kissed her. "Why don't I come with you? It would be fun for us to go shopping together, don't you think?"

Jill was momentarily tripped up by this, because honestly, it was an answer that she hadn't considered, although in retrospect, she knew she should have. "I know you want to come with me," she covered. "But if you come and pick everything out with me, then it won't be a _surprise_ dinner, will it? Don't you want it to be a surprise?" Then she waited for his answer, holding her breath because she knew the excuse was weak and there was no way a smart guy like him would fall for it. He had to know she was up to something. He _had_ to!

But then, to her surprise, he said, "All right. Go, get stuff for the surprise dinner."

"Really?" She asked. "Are you serious?" She put a hand to his forehead. "Are you sick? Why are you just going for it?"

"Hey, do you want to go or not?" Christian asked. "It's a limited time offer, so make up your mind."

"All right," Jill told him. "I'll go. I have lots of errands to run to get this prepared, so it might be a while. But I _will_ come back. I promise."

"Oh, I know," Christian told her. "Cause even if you didn't return of your own volition, I would find you, grab you by the hair, and drag you back here. Maybe tie you to the bed for a few days to teach you a lesson about how bad it is to lie and run away."

"You would?" Jill asked. "Would you give me a spanking too?"

"Yes," Christian nodded. "Until you couldn't sit down."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind," she told him as she grabbed her phone and her purse, then left the house to head for Malachai and Helene's.

* * *

"Jill!" Percy cried as he opened the door in response to her knock, pulled her into a hug, and lifted her off her feet. "You're back! How did you escape?"

"I'm not gonna be here forever," Jill told him as he put her down. "I just came to visit all the new kids and assure Helene and Malachai I wasn't dead and then I'm gonna go back."

"But why?" Percy asked. "Why would you want to do that?"

Jill sighed. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but I _have_ to! For the world and the Council. But I just…I think it's really touching that you're so concerned for me."

"Did I hear Jill's voice?" Malachai called.

"Yeah, but don't get too excited," Percy told him dryly. "She's only gonna be here for a little bit and then she's gonna go back to the monster."

"Well, it's good she's here now," Malachai told him and then led Jill into the living room. "It's so good to see you. You're looking a lot better than I thought."

"Well, how did you think I would look?" Jill asked.

Malachai sighed and took her hand. "Beat up, emaciated. Bruised. Dark circles under your eyes. Skinny from being starved. I don't know. I've had lots of horrible images in my head since you went away."

"I know," Jill replied and hugged him hard. "And all that stuff will happen at some point, but for now, Christian and I have called a truce and we're getting along well enough."

"And that's why he let you out?" Malachai asked.

"No," Jill groaned. "I actually had to lie in order to come here. I told him I was grocery shopping for things to make us a romantic dinner and he…he let me go. But he expects me to come back in a timely fashion which is why I can't stay forever." She paused. "Although…the consequences would be worth defying him."

"Don't." Malachai said immediately. "Don't be brave like that. Don't be foolish. Take what little time you have and then listen to him and go back. I don't want you to be hurt just for my sake if it can be avoided."

"Yes," Jill nodded. "I suppose you're right."

Malachai then seized on the moment and introduced her to Caleb, Leslie, Patrick, and Todd. They greeted her with kindness, and enthusiasm, all except for Todd, who displayed his usual blasé attitude about everything around him.

"Malachai told us about the plan to defeat the Phoenix," Leslie told her. "Did he just find you too? Do you need to find out what's going on?"

"No, I already know," Jill told her.

"She does," Malachai nodded. "She's working on bringing him down from behind enemy lines, which will make it easier for us in the long run."

"How are you doing that?" Patrick wanted to know.

"The Phoenix's son has a thing for her," Percy replied darkly. "So she's occupying him to keep him out of trouble."

"The Phoenix's son?" Leslie repeated. "Does he have slicked back blonde hair and blue eyes…and kind of a wicked, sexy grin?"

"Yes…" Jill nodded, ignoring the little flip in her stomach when Leslie commented on Christian's grin. "How would you know that?"

"Cause a guy who looked like that let us out of the warehouse where we were confined," Caleb informed Jill. "Said he was doing it to irritate his father."

"Well, isn't _that_ unexpected?" Jill smiled. "That might just be another reason for me to give him this dinner."

"Yeah," Malachai nodded. "And tell him thanks for me too. I really owe him one."

They talked for about half an hour more and then Jill excused herself. "I'm sorry, but I have to go," she told them, her voice full of regret. "I have groceries to get and a dinner to prepare if I don't want him to suspect that I was up to anything shifty when I left."

"All right," Malachai replied and hugged her. "Keep in contact when you can. It eases my mind when you do."

"I know that," Jill told him. "I will, I swear. Where's Helene? Is she here? I should probably say 'Goodbye' to her, or let her know I was here or something."

"She's working with her mother and won't be back until late," Malachai told her. "I'll let her know that you're doing all right."

"Thank you," Jill said and hugged him. "Hopefully I'll see you again soon. I'll really try, I swear."

Malachai then watched her go, wondering just how long she'd actually be able to keep that promise, or whether it was stupid to even think she'd be able to at all. Then he thought to himself, of course she will. Thinking that she wouldn't be able to, or wouldn't try her hardest anyway, was doing her a disservice, not to mention completely out of character for such a courageous and spunky girl.

* * *

"What do you want?" Christian asked when he opened the door to the apartment and saw Kai on the other side. "Why did my father send one of his stooges to talk to me? Why couldn't he have just come himself?"

"He just wanted to check on you and thought that _I_ would have a better chance of getting inside," Kai replied as he strode in and sat down on the sofa. "You know his plans for you. How are you coming on them?"

"Well, it's a bit early for him to be asking that question, isn't it?" Christian asked. "I mean, sure I can guess what his plans for me are, but he's never told me specifically."

"I would assume that he wants you to make more of…you know, whatever you are," Kai elaborated as he made a fiddling motion with his hands. "How's that coming?"

"I'm not sharing any details of my sex life with my father," Christian replied tersely. "What does he expect? For me to have Jill chained to my bed and not let her out of my sight, especially after she becomes pregnant?"

"Yes," Kai nodded. "I believe that's the point." He looked around. "So…where is she?"

"She told me that she had to go to the store to get things so we could have a romantic dinner," Christian replied.

"And you let her go?" Kai chuckled. "What an idiot."

"You really think she was trying to pull one over on me?" Christian asked.

"Yes," Kai nodded. "You think she's content to just stay with a guy who kidnapped her? Took her away from everything she loved?"

"Well, I've been nice," Christian told him. "We've been getting along famously."

"And she used that good rapport to take advantage of you!" Kai told him and shook his head. "You poor fool. How could you not see that?"

"You're lying!" Christian told him and gave him a good hard slap. "Don't say things like that! Jill's the one person in my life who actually likes me and she would _never_ deceive me like you think she would." He then began kicking Kai repeatedly until the warlock's body was nearly still. Then he stopped and said, "Do you get my point?"

"Yes," Kai coughed, some blood dripping out of the side of his mouth as he spoke in a weak voice. "Don't insult Jill or her epic, wonderful, awesome love for you that is in no way, shape, or form a lie. Got it."

"Good," Christian nodded. "Now go away! Oh, and when you see my father next, send him my regards, would you?" He then zapped Kai away and called Jill.

"Where are you?" He asked, the words coming out more snippy than he meant them to. "You better be getting home soon."

"Open the front door," Jill said. "I'm on the other side. And would you please help me with the grocery bags?"

He opened the door and there was Jill, just as she'd said, surrounded by grocery bags. "Oh, my god," he said in amazement. "You actually went grocery shopping. There's actually gonna be a dinner."

"Of course there is!" Jill said, coming in, taking him in her arms and kissing him. "I hope you didn't think I was lying about that."

"I didn't want to," Christian told her and picked a couple of the grocery bags off the front step. "I really wanted to trust you."

"But then later, we'll pretend that I lied and came home late so you can give me that spanking like you promised," Jill whispered, her lips against his earlobe, and smiled.

" _And_ the whole 'locking you in my room' business," Christian added and pulled her to him, his hands roaming over her back and butt. "Locking you in my room. And I'd come with you, so it'd be just the two of us with no worries from the outside world getting in the way at all."

"I'd like that," Jill kissed him. "Let's do it."

They then set about preparing a dinner of smoked salmon, wild rice, and green beans, accompanied by a Pinot Noir. Jill tried to engage Christian in light dinner conversation in between bites, but he was too intent on getting through his food and doing what was coming after to pay much attention.

"Well, that was good," He remarked as he pushed his empty plate away from himself. "We should do that again."

"I know you'll think this is a stupid question, but…why did you eat everything so fast?" Jill asked. Her plate was still half full and it seemed like she had no intention of speeding things along.

"Well, do you remember what we said we were gonna do after we ate?" Christian asked, standing behind her and breathing down her neck. "How can you still want to eat when you know that's coming?"

"It's better for digestion if you eat slower," Jill told him. "And standing behind me like that is not gonna make me eat faster."

"It won't?" Christian asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Jill said firmly. "Go watch TV if you're finished and I'll let you know when I'm done."

But Christian didn't move and as soon as her plate was empty, he took it away and picked her up out of her chair. "I guess I can spank you for being a slow eater," he told her, and then once she was undressed and settled on their bed, he did just that.

"Is that all you have in you?" Jill asked when he paused to rest his hand and run it over the curves of her bottom. "I hardly feel a thing!"

So he zapped up a paddle instead, and that got more of a reaction out of her. When he noticed her skin starting to get red, he gently turned her over on her back and tied her hands over her head. "Looks like we're gonna have to do it this way," he sighed, unzipping his pants as she stared at him intently, biting her bottom lip. "Get the ice!" She cried. "Get the ice, I liked that!"

So he went and got some ice and then she shut her eyes and tried not to shiver too much as he slid it over her bare skin. Then he rubbed it over her nipples, grinning as they puckered and he gave them a flick, which caused some delightful pain to shoot through Jill's body, her hips bucking forward ever so slightly.

"Good," she whispered, her eyes still closed. "Good!"

He then kissed her gently and chuckled at her gasp as he slid a long finger inside her over and over, savoring her grunts and moans as usual. As she strained against her handcuffs, she said, "come inside me. Like, _really_ come inside me. Please?"

"As you wish," he grinned at her, cupping her face with his hands and pushing into her forcefully over and over again.

* * *

Kai's taunting about Jill and how easily he let her come and go without question put thoughts in Christian's mind that night as he lay beside her sleeping form. _Was_ he too easy on her? Did he need to take a harder line? Despite their camaraderie and all the excellent sex…was she really plotting to leave him?

While she did her lessons the next day, he decided to snoop around. He looked at her phone, which she left in the drawer of her bedside table because she didn't want to be distracted by the ringing. He looked at the log of received calls and found that several were from someone named Helene. Her mother? It made him have a bad feeling in his gut. He put the phone back, closed the drawer, and then headed into the bathroom to snoop around in the cupboards. He always thought she took too long in the bathroom in the mornings. What was she doing? He didn't find anything amiss until he looked in the medicine cabinet. There he found pills organized by the day. He wondered what they were, but it didn't take him long to see the words "birth control" on the label. Swearing, he poured all the pills in the toilet and then gave them a flush before putting sugar pills in their place and slipping the box back in the cupboard.

"I was too easy on you," he whispered, feeling horribly betrayed. "I've been too nice. Not anymore." Chucking to himself, he then waited for her to come to him and tell him that she'd finished.

"I hope you found something to do with yourself while I was with my books," she commented and put her arms around his neck. "You weren't too bored, were you?"

"No," Christian smiled. "I found a way to occupy my time."

"Good," she said. "What do you want to do now? Or do I have to guess?"

"Actually my answer will surprise you," he told her. "I think we've had enough carnal excitement for one day. Let's hold it off until tomorrow and talk about our feelings like you always want to. Or go to a movie or something."

"Sure," Jill agreed although she found this idea a little strange coming from him. "What movie would you want to see?"

"I don't know," Christian shrugged and pushed her toward the door. "Let's pick when we get to the theater. The surprise will be part of the fun."


	58. Off On Our Honeymoon

"It's really good to see you got back from your mother's in one piece," Damon told Sam. "I was really concerned about that."

"I didn't actually spend a lot of time at Mom's," Sam explained. "Drew took me to meet his wife who was staying with her sister. I mean, Elijah showed his face for a little while at Mom's, but he didn't start a fight."

"What's the big problem?" Annie asked. "What did you do to piss off your mother?"

"It's not my mother that's the problem," Sam told her. "It's her husband. Not that it's any of your business."

"Oh, here we go again," Damon sighed.

"Sorry, Dad," Sam told him. Then he looked at Annie. "Mom's just married to a guy who doesn't like to be reminded that she had relationships and children with other guys because it took Mom a bit of time to let it go and commit to him."

"Ah," Annie nodded. "Okay." She paused. "I really liked what you did at Roxie's the other night. You're a good singer."

"Thank you," Sam smiled. "It was just my way of dealing with all the crazy in my life. It ended up working out well, I think."

"Yeah," Annie nodded. "I think I'll have to agree with that."

"You two getting along," Damon smiled at them. "This is nice. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sam replied. "Compared to Leslie, she's really easy to get along with." He paused. "Is it all right if I stay here or would I get in the way? I can always go back to my room at Roxie's if you guys want to be alone."

"No, you can stay," Annie replied. "I wouldn't feel right about you not having a house to live in. I know what it's like to just live in a room. It never really feels like home, does it?"

"Can't say that it does," Sam agreed. So he went to pick out a room for himself that was far away from his father and Annie's and then unpacked his clothes and put pictures of his mother, father, and older brother Joshua (who had been born when his mother was human, more than a century before Sam's own birth, and whom he'd only met as a ghost) on the bedside table, smiling at them, and then stripping down to his boxers and resting in bed. The beds at the boardinghouse were much more comfortable than the ones at Roxie's (or at least it felt that way to him) and soon he fell asleep with the light in his room still on. It was only turned off when Damon came to check on him and then flipped the switch on his way out of the room and back to Annie.

"How was he?" She asked when Damon joined her in bed. "You think he's gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, he was asleep when I went in to check on him," Damon told her. "I think he works himself too hard." He paused. "Not that I don't know why. Any excuse not to come home, I guess."

"Why wouldn't he want to come home?" Annie asked. "It doesn't seem like you're mean to him or anything."

Damon sighed. "It's hard for him to deal with the fact that his mother and I aren't together anymore," he said. "Between that and the fact that seeing his mother is difficult because her husband doesn't like reminders of her other relationships, I don't blame him for thinking that there's nothing for him here."

"We should change that, shouldn't we?" Annie asked. "How can we do that?"

"I don't know," Damon replied. "But we'll think of something. Now that he's here, I want him to stay."

"Me too," Annie smiled and gave him a kiss. "I really mean that."

"I know you do," Damon told her. "Thank you."

* * *

"I know you might find this hard to believe, Niklaus," Elijah said to his brother after Klaus invited him inside. "But I think…I think I need your advice."

"You do?" Klaus chuckled and took his brother's jacket. "Yes, that _is_ hard to believe. What is going on in your life that's so bad you can't handle it yourself and have to ask me?"

"Well, many of your children married people you don't like or married quite suddenly didn't they?" Elijah asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I suppose you could say that. But really, you get used to it if the alternative is that you never see those children again." He paused. "Who was it?"

"Andrew," Elijah sighed. "Eloped to Vegas with his girlfriend in the middle of the school day to save her from an arranged marriage. Selina's all for it, of course, so I get no sympathy from that corner."

"What's the girl like?" Klaus asked. "Is it someone Drew picked up at Roxanne's? Is that the problem?"

"No, she's a perfectly lovely girl who's well-bred and from a good family, but that doesn't give my son the right to run off and get married in the middle of a school day and not tell me until it's all done with, right?" Elijah asked. "Or am I worrying too much?"

"Well, since there's nothing you can do about it now, I think you're worrying too much," Klaus told him and got up to go get him a drink. "I think, as is usually the case with you, what would serve you best now is to just lighten up."

"Lighten up?" Elijah burst out. "You mean I should just tell Drew that I'm okay with the fact that he got married and didn't think it was something he should mention to me beforehand?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Cause what are you really accomplishing by being angry and trying to fight Drew about this?"

Elijah opened his mouth to try and respond, but couldn't think of anything to say. "Damn it!" He swore. "Just give me a minute and I'll think of something."

"All right," Klaus nodded. They sat in silence for a few seconds and then he began humming the Jeopardy theme song as Elijah stretched his brain trying to think of one thing that would justify his still being angry at Drew, but by the time Klaus finished humming and made a buzzer noise he'd come up with nothing.

"See?" He crowed. "I knew you couldn't come up with anything!"

"Oh, but I think I have!" Elijah protested. "I just…is it wrong to want respect from my children? If Andrew respected me, I think he would have told me about his getting married. That's all."

"Well since you said this after I made the buzzer noise it doesn't really count," Klaus grinned. Then he asked Amy and Vivi's opinions as they came in from the library to see who was visiting. "Amy, Vivian, let's say that Rosalie or Eva decided to get married without telling either of you. Would you think that they should have out of respect for you as their parent, or do you think that that's their business and they should tell you when they want to?"

"Which one of your kids got married?" Vivi asked Elijah.

"Andrew," Elijah told her. "It was to save someone he loved from being stuck in an arranged marriage she didn't want."

"Well, does Drew make a habit of being sneaky and lying to you?" Vivi asked. "Or is this one indiscretion in a life of honesty and being upfront?"

Elijah groaned, knowing exactly what she would say once he gave her his answer. "It was just this one time."

"Give him a break then," Vivi said as he nodded. "He did what he did for a reason, and I doubt that reason was to be nasty to you."

Elijah turned to look at Amy. "Do you feel the same way?" He asked. "Do you think it's unreasonable for me to be hurt about this?"

Amy sighed. "Elijah, everyone but my sister tossed me aside when I got involved with your brother. They put a spell on themselves so they wouldn't even have to remember that I existed. And while I eventually came to the realization that that was for the best and I was much happier without them, it took time and their rejection hurt. Do you want Drew to feel that way?"

Elijah sighed. "No, I guess I don't," he said. "I suppose I will go home and tell Andrew that I'm no longer mad at him for what he did and that I wish him the best of luck."

"Oh, good for you," Vivi remarked. "That's so nice."

Elijah then stood up and said, "Thank you for your help, all of you. I best be on my way so I can make peace with Andrew."

"Do you want to stay for lunch?" Amy offered. "I always make more than I need to."

"All right, thank you," Elijah told her. "I would like that very much!"

* * *

"Selina, I'm back from Niklaus' house!" He called after arriving home with leftovers. "And I brought food!"

"Good," Selina told him. "Drew and Clarissa are here. They want to make peace with you before they leave on their honeymoon."

"They want to do their honeymoon now?" Elijah asked, his jaw dropping. "But that will mean they miss more school, won't it?"

"Yes, but they've assured me they'll make up what they miss," Selina told him. "Let them run their own lives, please. I think they're responsible enough to handle it."

"Where are they?" Elijah asked. "In my office?"

"No, the library," Selina told him. "You want me to come with you?"

"No, I promise I will conduct myself in a civil manner," Elijah assured her. "I will not yell, or scream, or get impatient."

"Well, good," Selina said. "Cause that would accomplish nothing, would it?"

Elijah then went to the library where Drew and Clarissa were waiting for him. When he entered, they stood up at the same time, and Drew said quietly, "Hello, Father."

"Hello, Andrew," Elijah replied. "Your mother says the two of you want to make peace with me."

"Yes, we do," Clarissa confirmed. "We're really sorry that we got married behind your back so that you were the last to know. We had no idea it would hit you that hard. But we didn't do it to upset you."

"I know you didn't," Elijah told her and then looked at his son. "I know you did this so Clarissa wouldn't have to marry someone she didn't love. That's very noble of you."

"Thank you," Drew told him. "I'm glad you're okay with this now."

"I'm working on being okay with it," Elijah told him. "But I'll get there. However, you two can still visit here together and I promise I won't say a word."

"Thank you," Drew told him. "And we promise that we'll make up all the work we miss on our honeymoon."

"I know you will," Elijah smiled. "I can't see you doing anything else." Then he said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Clarissa replied as she cautiously hugged her father-in-law. "Thank you very much."

* * *

"It was so sweet that you left a note for your dad before we came here," Clarissa told Drew as they made their way into the hotel room that he'd rented for the weekend so they could finally be alone and have some peace and quiet.

"Well, it was a necessity," Drew told her as he put the bags in the closet. "He was upset that we kept him in the dark about our marriage and I didn't want him to have the same feelings about our going off on our honeymoon, however brief it is. I was just covering all our bases."

"Speaking of brief," Clarissa said as she kissed him and then began unbuttoning his shirt, "We shouldn't was what little time we have, should we?"

"No," Drew shook his head and then after his shirt was off, pulled her close, his hands running over her body, grinning at her. "I agree with that very much."

Soon, they were both naked and rolling around on the bed, and even though Drew had run his hands over her body and kissed and nibbled and rubbed everything he could before burying himself inside her, something was wrong.

"Why is this not as good?" Clarissa asked as she looked up at him. "Does this feel as wrong to you as it does to me?"

"Yes," Drew sighed. "It does. But why do you think that is? I'm really trying hard, I promise."

"I know you are," Clarissa assured him. "I'm not blaming you for anything." She paused. "What if we tried it in the bath? Usually when we're naked or close to it, we're in water. That might work."

"All right," Drew replied and rolled off her. "Go and turn on the bath."

"Or we could always wait until tonight and sneak in the pool after hours," Clarissa put forth.

"Oh, but that would be wrong!" Drew told her.

"Wrong or very right?" Clarissa asked with a smile. "Come on, in your heart of hearts, you know which one you'd pick, don't you?"

"Yes," Drew sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I suppose I do. I guess we'll wait until tonight then."

"I guess we will," Clarissa agreed and hugged him.

"I don't think you'll regret this at all," Clarissa told Drew as she opened the door to the pool and hot tub area with her magic around midnight when she was sure that no one would be around. They headed over to the hot tub and then removed their robes before easing themselves into the warm water, naked as the day they were born.

"This feels good, doesn't it?" Clarissa asked as she and Drew rested for a minute.

"Yes," Drew agreed and closed his eyes. "I feel very relaxed right now." Because his eyes were closed, he wasn't immediately aware of it when Clarissa made her way across the hot water, sat next to him, and began touching him under the water, applying gentle pressure with her fingers as she made her way up his cock. She expected him to open his eyes and scold her, but he didn't. He just kept making little moans of pleasure until one sharp intake of breath followed by a grunt let her know he'd come.

"That was fun," he said with a smile. "You're a very sneaky person."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," Clarissa replied. "Cause it's my turn now."

Drew put his arms around her as she scooted her butt back against the side of the hot tub and spread her legs. As she nibbled on his earlobe and blew on his ear, he slipped inside her over and over again. She grunted as she felt her back hit the wall of the hot tub each time.

"Is that not good either?" Drew asked. "Damn, I just cannot get it right!"

"It was better this time!" Clarissa told him. "Why don't you just pick me up and I'll wrap my legs around your waist?"

And when he finally did that, it worked better than anything they'd done before. They both liked the feeling of their wet, bare bodies held against one another and being able to hear the beating of one another's hearts as they held one another close. Finally, when Clarissa managed to orgasm, they sat back down in the water and then Drew suggested they get their robes on and go back to their room before they were discovered.

"I agree," Clarissa nodded and grabbed for her robe. "After everything that's happened, it'd be really awkward to explain to your parents that they had to bail us out of jail because we were caught naked in a hotel hot tub after hours, right?"

"Well, yes," Drew nodded. "But if we ever do get caught in a situation like that, I'll make an exception and compel our captors to forget we were ever in trouble."

"You'd do that?" Clarissa asked in amazement. It seemed so unlike him.

"Well of course!" Drew nodded. "What kind of husband would I be if I let my wife go to jail when there was a way out of it?"

"Not a very good one?" Clarissa guessed.

"Exactly," Drew nodded. "Now let's get to bed, shall we? I think our first time gave us enough excitement for one night. I think it was worth the wait. Did you?"

"Oh, yes," Clarissa nodded. "Definitely! I enjoyed myself."

He then picked her up and, after asking her to use her magic to open the pool door because his arms were full, carried her back to their room where they tried their best to get some sleep.


	59. The Struggle Is Real

"So tell me," Freya said when she called Jill to her father's house so they could have a chat. "Things going well between you and my son?"

"Oh, yes!" Jill nodded. "Very nice. Sometimes he's so nice, I even forget all that's gonna happen to us."

"Don't you do that!" Freya told her. "Don't let your guard down for a moment. Once you do, that's when he's gonna take advantage of you."

"I know that," Jill told her. "I'm not stupid. I know Christian's gonna cause me trouble."

"Especially when it comes to sex," Freya continued. "Be careful with how often you give yourself to him."

"I have pills to protect me from pregnancy," Jill told her. "You're sweet to worry about me, but I really don't think there's any need for that."

"I think there is," Freya told her. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Despite how confidently she'd sounded standing up to Freya about Christian, Jill knew that if she didn't keep somewhat on her guard, she would be in trouble, just like Freya said.

"Where were you?" Christian asked when she got back to the apartment. "You didn't leave me a note or anything."

"Why do I have to tell you where I am every minute?" Jill questioned. "I should be able to have something of a life as long as I come home to you at the end of it."

"Oh, I don't think so," Christian shook his head. "How do I know that you'll come back if you do that?"

"Can't you just trust that I'll come back?" Jill asked. "It'll be a lot easier between us if you do. Besides, I was visiting your mother. It wasn't like I was doing anything fun."

"Why would you visit my mother?" Christian asked. "She's trying to turn you against me, isn't she? Whatever she said, don't believe a word of it!"

"I stuck up for you," Jill told him firmly. "She was very worried about our sex life, but I told her there was no need to be cause I had pills." She grinned. "It's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Christian grinned as he picked her up. "We're gonna have to spend a lot of time in bed for you to make this up to me."

"Oh, I figured as much," Jill said as he brought her to bed and gave her a spanking after pulling up the skirt of her dress and slipping off her panties. "Why do you think I did it?"

As he entered her from the back, pushing into her over and over again, she grunted and then said, "You'll never guess what your mother told me while we were talking."

"What did she tell you?" Christian asked as he pulled out of her, paused, gave her one last spanking, and then flipped her over onto her back and zapping off her dress so that she lay naked underneath him, looking up into his eyes and panting heavily. "What did she say? Whatever it was, it isn't true."

"I would hope not," Jill replied as he ran over her belly with his tongue. "I would like to think that you wouldn't take advantage of me by messing with my birth control and getting me pregnant without my knowledge because you want to be fruitful and multiply."

That almost got him. He almost froze with his lips on her stomach and his hands cupped around her bare breasts, something that would have given him away immediately. To cover his discomfort, he immediately began coughing.

"What's going on?" Jill asked in a worried voice and sat up. "Are you okay? Do I need to get you some water? Or give you the Heimlich or something?"

"No," Christian coughed again. "Thank you. I'll be fine, though."

When he had stopped coughing, Jill took him in her arms. "Do you feel better?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do," he said and kissed her. "Sorry for spoiling the mood."

"Oh, you didn't spoil anything," Christian told her, trying to give a mental swat to the voices in his head that were whispering "Liar! Liar!" over and over again. "What do you say we keep doing this without talking, hmmm?"

"All right," Jill smiled. "The gag's in the top drawer if you want to be assured of my silence."

"As tempting as that sounds, if I gag you, I can't kiss you," Christian reminded her. "How about I cuff you instead?"

Jill nodded and he cuffed her wrists, then parted her legs and kissed down her inner thighs and pleasured her with his tongue before pushing into her over and over again, just wondering how long it would take before all the deception would blow up in his face and his and Jill's relationship wouldn't be so easy anymore.

* * *

"I have a question," Christian demanded of John, who looked up at him irritably after he strode into his father's office uninvited.

"What?" He asked. "First I'm gonna ask one: Have you gotten that girl of yours pregnant yet? It shouldn't be taking this long!"

"I've gotten rid of her birth control and we've been together quite frequently since then, so it could happen at any time," Christian told him. "Does that make you happy?"

"Yes," John told him. "It does. I'm surprised you actually went through with it. I thought you would be too much of a coward, honestly."

"Well, I'm not," Christian snapped. "Now can I ask my question or not?"

"All right, what is it?" John asked.

"Will her pregnancy be as difficult as Mother's was?" Christian demanded to know. "Cause I don't want that; I want it to be as easy as it can possibly be so she doesn't hate me afterwards and leave me alone and bitter like you are."

John chuckled. "Well, that's a noble sentiment, my boy, but once she finds out how you deceived her about her pills, she's going to leave you anyway. That's why I'll give you the spells: cause I know how it's going to end, and I suppose it wouldn't hurt me much to let you have a little bit of closeness before it all goes to hell."

"You're doing this for me cause you remember what it was like with Mother, don't you?" Christian asked. "You remember how difficult the pregnancy was and that it terrified you that she would die, and in your heart of hearts, you don't want me to go through the same thing. You don't have to admit it to me. I know what sort of person you are, so I wouldn't make you do that. But I know that's what you're doing. Thank you."

"Would you go away now?" John asked after writing some stuff down on a piece of paper. "Here are a few spells and potions you can give her/perform on her so things won't be as difficult for her as they were for your mother, so you can go."

"I will, now that I have what I want," Christian smiled. "Goodbye, Father."

"Goodbye," John snapped and then sat back in his chair, waiting for Edele to come and mock him for being a big softie. Instead, the next person he heard from was Freya.

"I hope that if Christian getting some girl pregnant is part of your big plan, you're gonna do whatever you can to make it easy for her," Freya grouched. "I already warned her that she'll most likely just be a tool in everything, regardless of how nice Christian seems now. So if you have spells or anything that will stop her from having to experience hell on earth like I did, you give them to him right now. You call him to your house and you give him anything you've got."

"My dear, I just did," John assured her. "He came to ask me for just that sort of thing. I hope it's not because he's beginning to feel guilt over what he's meant to do."

"Well, I hope he is, cause after what you're putting him through, he deserves a little happiness," Freya snapped.

"Listen to yourself," John told her. "You're finally starting to sound like a mother. It's about time."

"Yeah," Freya asked. "When are you gonna start to sound like a father?" Then she hung up, leaving John alone with his thoughts.

* * *

"I can't help but notice things were a bit tense between you and Clarissa at breakfast this morning," Selina told Drew when she met him in his room after school a few days later. "Honeymoon over already between you two? What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Drew sighed. "It's just that…our first time didn't go as well as I would have liked. She says it was fine, but I know it's only to make me feel better." He looked up at her. "You ever been with anyone where things were like that? And if the answer has anything to do with Dad, you don't have to be specific."

Selina then told him, "You know, I think this is really something you should talk to your father about. He went through the same sort of anxiety before I got pregnant with you and your sister and I think what he has to say about that would really help you."

"You think?" Drew asked. "He's not really open about stuff like that."

Selina nodded and took him to Elijah's office, doing the knock to indicate it was her, and then bringing Drew in when Elijah called for her to enter. "Drew had some sexual anxiety on his honeymoon and I really think this is something that a father should talk to his son about, all right? Goodbye!" She then left, and Elijah and Drew were left staring awkwardly at one another.

"So," Drew spoke after a moment, determined to make his father open up. "How long did it take you and to get Mom pregnant with me and Stephanie? What was the problem?"

"I—I don't know if I can talk about this," Elijah replied. He was sweating and his face was red as he avoided Drew's gaze, then got up to run to the door and shout apologies into the hallway. "Is this about how I'm not as warm toward Sam as I should be?" He asked. "I'm sorry! Next time he comes over, I'll be pleasant, I swear! Now come and help me talk about this!"

Mom was right, the younger Mikaelson thought to himself as he settled in his chair. The anxiety had definitely come from his father. "I don't think she's coming back," Drew remarked after a few minutes. "So we might as well have the talk and get it over with."

"Yes, I suppose so," Elijah nodded and came to sit back down. "Now, tell me what the problem is again?"

"My first time with Clarissa wasn't as good as I wanted it to be," Drew told him. "I was nervous and it wrecked things. How do I get over that? Did you ever have an experience like that?"

"Well, not with your mother, that's for sure," Elijah replied.

"Are you positive?" Drew asked. "Why did it take so long for her to get pregnant with me and Stephanie?"

"Cause your mother and I both really wanted you," Elijah told him. "You were our first children in a long time and when you want a child that badly, there's pressure and it can…it can throw things off. Not like when you get pregnant just from having sex for fun."

"And was it embarrassing for you when things got thrown off?" Drew questioned. "How did you do it again the next night?"

Elijah leaned forward. "I'm very lucky," he told him. "And so are you. We both have women who really love us, and not just because of how we are in bed. When they say they don't care about one bad experience, they really mean it. In your mother's case, it's a plus in a way cause it's an excuse for us to do it more, which she has no problem with whatsoever." He chuckled.

"That's the sort of information I didn't need to know," Drew told him. Now _he_ was turning red.

"Sorry," Elijah apologized. "But my point is, if you _believe_ Clarissa when she tells you that a rough first time is inconsequential and that there'll be plenty more where that came from in the future, it'll be a lot easier for you to jump back on the horse. And do you really think she means it?"

"Yeah," Drew nodded with a smile. "I do." He got up. "In fact, I think I'm gonna go apologize to her now for being such a jerk about this."

"Good," Elijah smiled. "You do that. Good for you."

"And Dad?" Drew paused by the door. "Thanks for the talk. I know it was difficult for you."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied. "After a little bit, it wasn't difficult at all."

Drew left then and went to find Clarissa, running into her just as she was coming out of their bedroom in a hot pink negligee. "Where in the world did that come from?" He asked in surprise.

"I went out and bought it," Clarissa answered. "If you think it's too much, I'll take it back."

"No," Drew smiled, opening the door and picking her up. "I think it's just great."

"Your mood's improved," Clarissa smiled as he carried her over the threshold of the bedroom. "That's nice to see."

"I want to apologize for being such a jerk," Drew told her as he undressed. "I was rattled by the fact that our first time was difficult because despite your reassurances, I thought I had disappointed you and I don't want that."

"You didn't," Clarissa told him. "You didn't disappoint me at all. And thanks for the apology, even though it was completely unnecessary. Do you think you feel better now?"

"I don't know," Drew grinned as he got in bed beside her and kissed her as he ran his hands over her warm skin and then buried himself inside her. "What do you think?"


	60. The Beast Within

"What's this?" Jill asked as she got out of bed to go to the bathroom during a pause in their latest sexual marathon and noticed a small red circular mark just above Christian's butt. She thought she would have seen it before, given how well she knew his body, but it was completely strange to her. "Is that a birthmark?"

"Um…yes!" Christian said quickly. "I usually cover it up so you can't see it. It's kind of ugly."

"No, it's not!" Jill shook her head. "It's part of you. You shouldn't be embarrassed. You know I have a strawberry birthmark on my butt. This isn't any different."

"Actually, it is," Christian told her. "It's _very_ different."

"Oh?" Jill asked and sat down next to him. "How is it different? Tell me."

"I thought you had to go to the bathroom," Christian told her firmly and spanked her. "Go and do that so we can start round two, huh?"

"Okay," Jill said. "But you know you don't have to hide things from me, right?"

"Yeah," Christian told her. "I remember that. It's just that I don't want to burden you with more trouble than you already have. Don't you get that?"

"All right," Jill nodded and gave a long sigh before heading to the bathroom. Whatever was troubling him was probably something really awful otherwise he wouldn't find it difficult to tell her. What could be worse than the knowledge that they were going to kill each other one day? She knew that and it wasn't harming their relationship any. It was as she washed her hands that she resolved to find out what was wrong with him, even if it killed her, because she wanted to have as good a time with him as was possible before everything fell apart and she would struggle to think well of him.

When her hands were dry, she took a deep breath and smiled to herself as she strode back into the bedroom and joined Christian in bed once more.

"Are we done talking about my birthmark?" He asked her as he took her face in his hands.

"Yes," Jill assured him and put her arms around him to pull him close. "Of course." She kissed him. "And I'm very sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just know that you seem to be suffering a lot and I want to stop that if I can."

Christian kissed her hair and massaged her back in circling motions. "That's very sweet of you, but I'm afraid this is a cross I have to bear on my own, all right? Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, I do," Jill nodded. "I promise."

"Good," Christian smiled. "Thank you."

"But just a question," Jill said with a smile. "What if I don't? What will you do if I keep nagging? Hypothetically, of course."

"Well, that's not difficult to figure out," Christian told her, then gagged her and began nuzzling on her neck before biting it and licking up the blood, then zapping up some ice and running it over her bare skin (since that was her favorite thing) and parting her legs to gently pleasure her with his tongue before he pulled her up to sit, blindfolded her too (she wrote down that request on a piece of paper she zapped up and showed it to him) then, as her legs wrapped around him, he buried himself inside her and pushed into her over and over again, getting more and more aroused as he removed the gag and her breathy moans filled his ears when she wasn't whispering his name again and again.

* * *

Despite her efforts to comfort him via both encouragement and sex, Jill finding his birthmark really seemed to rattle Christian, even to the point where he would recoil every time she came near him or tried to touch him.

"Stop trying to get me to talk about it!" He snapped at her with undeserved venom as he pushed her away one morning and left their bed to dress. "It's just a damn birthmark! What do you want me to say?"

"Well, I don't really know," Jill shook her head. "I just…you're clearly hurting and I want you to know that I…I want to help you deal with this."

"No," Christian said firmly. "No, you don't. You're already as involved in this as you need to be without knowing more about the stuff my father did to me."

"So it's not just a birthmark, is it?" Jill asked. "It's part of…part of whatever it is that you are."

"Yeah," Christian nodded. "Exactly. Whenever I've changed into that thing, I've always locked myself away so you didn't have to see."

"I want to," Jill said firmly. "You have to show me, Christian. I'm not afraid!"

"You're not brave either," Christian told her. "You're the biggest fool I know. First you come here without hesitation. Without complaint. You do whatever I ask of you. You don't make panicked phone calls to your loved ones, telling them to come rescue you. And now you want to see the monster. You truly are the strangest woman I've ever met."

"It might not seem like it, but that's what I tell myself sometimes, too," Jill agreed. "It's hard to know what I know about us and not be completely terrified of you, or the future, or whatever. But you're being good to me now, and that's what I want to focus on. I want this to last as long as it can so I have something to hold on to when you've lost your mind and aren't able to do anything but hurt me. I hope you can do the same about me."

"I hope I can too, someday," Christian told her. "I really will try," He paused and got out of bed. "Oh, and before I forget, I have to get you something."

"Oh?" Jill asked, intrigued. "What is it?"

"It's nothing exciting," he said when he came back with a glass of liquid that was blue, warm, and had steam rising from it. "Just a potion that my dad gave me. It'll help make it so that when you get pregnant, things won't be as difficult and painful for you as they were for my mother."

"Well, thank you," Jill told him and looked down into the cup. "That's very sweet, but why are you giving it to me now? I'm not pregnant. I haven't even stopped taking my pills."

"But that's the thing," Christian told her. "I don't exactly know how this potion works, or how quickly it takes effect, so the sooner you take it, the sooner it can start working, right? Be careful, it's a bit warm."

"I know," Jill said, putting the cup on the bedside table. "If you got that recipe from your father, I'd rather not take it just now," she remarked and made it disappear as his jaw dropped and he began to protest.

"Didn't you hear me say this will help you?" He cried. "If you don't take it, your pregnancy will be as horrible and difficult as my mother's was! Do you want that?"

"I'll risk it," Jill told him. Then she asked him, "Is there something else you're keeping from me besides that that has nothing to do with your birthmark?"

It's your last chance, Christian told himself. Just do it. Just say something to her, you coward! Tell her what you did!

He cleared his throat. "Well, you remember that no birth control is one-hundred percent effective, right? So theoretically, even though the chance is slim, you could get pregnant at any time, right?"

"I suppose you have a point," Jill agreed. "The only totally effective way of assuring I don't get pregnant is for us to not have sex, and you know that won't fly."

"You're damn right," He told her. "I'm just so glad you're okay with that."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jill wanted to know.

Christian shrugged. "Never mind. You drink your potion and I…I'm gonna go spend some time in the basement."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian told her. "This is something I have to do alone. Stay away, please. I beg you."

* * *

In a desperate attempt to cheer Christian up, as it got dark, she left the house and went to buy him some cupcakes. When she returned, the house seemed dark. Silent. Abandoned. She parked Christian's car in the garage and put his keys on the hook by the door, then tried to flip the light switch on to get rid of the endless darkness that it seemed the house had been plunged into. Then she thought that they had been blown out by magic, so there was no point to try and get them on.

"Christian?" She called, zapping up a flashlight after leaving the cupcakes on the table. "Christian, where are you? When did the power go out?" But she got no answer from him. She began walking around, shining the flashlight into every nook and cranny and still calling out for him. Then she heard a skittering noise, and the sound of heavy breathing. She whipped around. "Who's there?" She called. "Christian, is that you?"

Then, out of the darkness, she saw glowing eyes, red like the color of blood. She shone the light in their direction and screamed, not even trying to suppress it as a creature that looked like a man but had sickening gray tinted skin, pointy horns, and a long tail appeared and pounced on her, knocking the flashlight from her arms and breathing heavily into her face. "Are you happy?" Said Christian's voice, although it didn't seem like him speaking to her at all.

"Don't hurt me, please!" She begged. Then she took a deep breath, gathered her strength, pushed the monster off her, and watched it scurry away, out an open window, and into the night.

Jill sat in the dark for a few minutes trying to catch her breath, and then took another run at getting the lights on. They hadn't been messed up at all and were perfectly functional. She'd appreciated a well-lit house so much. After getting herself some tea, she tried to come to terms with what she'd just seen. It was wearing Christian's clothes, it spoke with Christian's voice, but it definitely wasn't Christian. Or at least it didn't look like him. If it really was him, though, no wonder he hadn't wanted her to see it. And if the shame that form made him feel made him willing to hurt _her_ , now that he was loose, there really wasn't much hope for innocent bystanders, was there? This realization made her grab her coat and Christian's keys and then head out to catch the monster that she hoped would soon be once again wearing Christian's face.


	61. A Huge Weight Lifted

"Christian?" Jill asked as she opened the door and saw him standing in the hallway and looking down at his shoes. "Christian, you came back!" She grabbed him, kissed him, and pulled him inside. "Oh, my god! I'm so glad you're back! I thought I would never see you again! Don't you scare me like that!"

"In my defense, you _did_ ask to see the monster," Christian reminded her as she sat him down.

"I know I did," Jill replied. "And that's something that will never happen again. Once was enough. But I meant you running off for multiple days and not giving me any word of how you were. I was afraid that you were dead, or that your father had gotten a hold of you, or…just don't run off again. Please?"

"All right," Christian promised. "I won't run off, I swear. Now that…now that the deep dark secret is out in the open, I guess there really isn't any reason to, is there?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "You have no excuse whatsoever." She took him in her arms, hugged him tight, and then went to get him a drink. "So," she asked as she sat down, "What did you do while you were out running around? You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"Well, yes, but he was a bad person and I was helping a friend, so I consider that okay," Christian told him. "Are you mad?"

"Not if you were helping a friend," Jill shook her head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…how is it that you managed to make a friend?"

"It was the most random thing," Christian answered easily, not seeming offended at all. "After I ran away from you, I just…I didn't have any idea where I was and I just kept running until I finally collapsed in front of this bar and managed to calm myself down enough to get my normal appearance back. There was a guy working there and he came out, brought me inside, gave me orange juice cause he thought I was hammered, and then he told me there were rooms on the second floor and he would give me one for the night cause I didn't have anywhere else to go. He must've thought I was a kindred spirit or something. His name is Sam. He's nice."

"Well, I'll have to meet him sometime," Jill remarked. "Good for you."

"Yeah," Christian nodded. "It is, isn't it?"

Jill smiled, got up, took a few steps, and then just collapsed with Christian catching her before she hit the floor. "Are you okay?" He asked. "What was that? Are you sick?"

"No, I just…I've just been a little tired lately, that's all," Jill told him. "Would you mind bringing me to our bed so I can rest?"

"Sure," Christian nodded. "But are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jill assured him. "Don't you worry about me."

Christian was skeptical, but he did what she asked and then said, "I'm gonna go see my father while you rest. Are you all right with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jill wanted to know. "Unless you're going to bait him. Be careful. Don't start unnecessary trouble, all right? I want you here in one piece."

"All right," Christian sighed. "I'll try not to cause too much trouble, I swear."

"Thank you," Jill replied as he kissed her hand. "That's very good of you. Hurry back."

"I will," Christian nodded. "Don't start thinking I'd spend more time with my father than I absolutely had to."

* * *

"I want you to know something, Father," Christian told John as he strode into his study. "I've showed Jill the monster you made me into. The darkest part of what I am. And guess what?" He chuckled. "She doesn't care!"

John looked up at him, unamused. "You know, that makes me happy," he told him and stood up. "It bodes well for when you tell her everything else: about the pregnancy and the sort of child she'll be carrying. You _are_ coming clean about that, aren't you? I assume you will because you're so big on honesty and are determined to have a close and loving relationship with her."

"Of course," Christian nodded. "You think I want to end up bitter and alone like you and Mother? If you've done anything for me, you've showed me how _not_ to live my life."

"Well, good luck," John said and gave him a little wave as he reached the door. "When you tell her, let me know what she says."

"I will," Christian replied firmly. "Don't you worry about that."

But as he left his father's house, he felt nervousness pool in his stomach. What he'd done to Jill was terrible, and as supportive as she was of his many… _eccentricities_ , he doubted she'd have a lot of patience for his choice to make all her pills disappear so she'd be pregnant before she was actually ready for it. Yep. He was really gonna hear about that. There was no way around it.

* * *

When he reached the apartment, he stood outside the door with a hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and then went inside where Jill was lying on the couch with her hand on her forehead. "Are you all right?" He asked and sat down next to her. "What's wrong with you? Still the same trouble as when I left? Why did you leave your bed?"

"I just…I don't feel well," Jill replied. "And…and it's been a while since I had a period. I thought it was just a fluke, but…I don't know. And I felt a bit better after you left, so I came out here, but I don't feel well again. Being pregnant would be a good way to explain it all, wouldn't it?"

Christian sucked in a breath. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologized. "You remember when my mother delivered me?"

Jill nodded. "The pain and the agony and that really weird cocoon you crawled out of."

"Yes, well…" Christian sighed. "That's what's gonna happen to you, too. And our child…they're gonna be a bit demon, just like me."

"Well, as long as I don't see that, I can pretend it's not true, right?" Jill began to laugh hysterically. "Oh, my god! My pills let me down. Oh, my god!"

"Actually they didn't," Christian told her. "You haven't been taking your pills. I switched them out for sugar pills when I thought you were gonna leave." He then shut his eyes and waited for her to start yelling. Or maybe even hit him. He knew that he deserved either reaction. Or even both. But when he heard nothing, he opened his eyes and his heart broke. She was staring at him, but she wasn't angry. She was sad. The saddest he'd ever seen a person be. He came to sit beside her and put his arm around her, but she leaned away from him. "Come on," he muttered. "Say something, please."

"What do you want me to say?" Jill asked quietly. "Do you want me to yell? Hurt you? Tell you that I hate what you did and I never want to speak to you again cause you're a despicable person? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Well, I don't _want_ to hear it," Christian said. "But it's what I deserve, isn't it?"

"How would it help?" Jill asked. "How would my yelling and screaming and all that help us get through this in a way that actually accomplishes something?"

"I don't know," Christian shrugged. "It's what my parents are always doing." He then brightened a little. "Does this mean you aren't mad at me?"

"Not strictly," Jill shook her head. "But I _am_ disappointed. Very, _very_ disappointed. And hurt too. I thought we had the sort of relationship where if you had a problem with something I did, if you had a worry, you could talk to me and you wouldn't _have_ to sneak around behind my back and do something like this."

"I know that now," Christian assured her. "Really, I do. So what happens now? Are you going to get rid of the baby?"

"Well, first I need to see if there really is one," Jill told him. "I don't know for sure yet. It's just a strong suspicion. And if there is…well, I might as well keep it, right? I'm gonna have to have one someday. It might as well be now."

"Well, I'm sorry for what I did," Christian apologized. "I know it's a bit late, but I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Jill said. "And please…please don't do anything like this again. Cause like I said, you don't need to. You can talk to me. I promise I won't run away. I swear."

"I'll remember that," Christian replied. "Now…do you want me to go and get the pregnancy test?"

"Yeah," Jill decided. "We might as well find out the truth."

So Christian went and got the test and Jill took it and came out with it. "Now we wait," she told him while they stared. "Two lines for yes, one line for no."

Neither of them was surprised when the test showed two lines. "Well, there you go," Jill puffed out her cheeks and then exhaled. "There's our answer. I'm pregnant." She paused. "You know that potion you gave me before to help ease the symptoms? Does it work?"

"I don't know, I've never had it before, obviously," Christian told her. "You wanna risk it and have some? You seem better, though."

"Give me a little, please," Jill told him. "I want to see if it works. Cause the last thing I want in this mess is to end up as in pain and distraught as your mother was."

"I understand," Christian replied, getting her the potion before he went to tell his father. "Believe me."


	62. The Demon Inside

"I still can't believe you're pregnant," Christian told Jill as they rested on the sofa with his hand on her belly and her head on his lap. "I mean, I shouldn't be surprised or anything, but it's just…it's a bit overwhelming."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Jill nodded. "You didn't actually tell your father that I'm pregnant, did you? I think we should keep the news from our families and only tell them if we absolutely have to because we know that my family won't take it well and yours…well, they'll probably be a terrible influence. No offense or anything."

"Oh, I'm not offended," Christian shook his head. "I know what you mean and I agree with you." He paused. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "Do you need more potion?"

"No, I'm good for now," Jill assured him. "Whatever your dad put in that stuff really helps my physical symptoms."

"Good," Christian said as he played with her hair. "I'm very relieved to hear that."

Jill then got up and let out a shriek as she shrunk and shouted at Christian in a very high voice. "What happened? What's going on? Help me!"

Christian chuckled and went to get a cup from the kitchen and told her to crawl into it. "Apparently, the potion doesn't do anything to stop the magical effects of pregnancy," he said.

"I don't know why you're laughing," Jill told him in that same high voice. "This isn't funny."

"Oh, of course the situation isn't," Christian agreed. "But if you could just hear your own voice…"

"I can hear my own voice, thank you," Jill told him. "And I still don't think it's very nice of you to make jokes."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Christian apologized, took the cup to the bed and dumped it out on the mattress just in time for Jill to grow back to normal size.

"That wasn't any fun," she remarked. "I don't want it to happen again.

"Oh, but it might," Christian told her.

"How do you know?" Jill asked. "We just found out I was pregnant. It's not like you've had time to read up on the subject."

"I just have a sense that it's not the end of that," Christian shrugged.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't be surprised," Jill remarked and removed her blouse and her bra and then began to peel off her skirt.

"What are you doing?" Christian asked, quickly covering his eyes.

"I'm undressing," Jill replied. "I think after that, I deserve a little pleasure, don't you? Why are you covering your eyes? What's wrong with you?"

"Now you know that I love sex even more than the next person," Christian told her after bringing his hands down and throwing her her shirt. "But I think that in the interest of the baby's safety, we should hold off while you're pregnant. You know how wild we can get sometimes. I know that it doesn't bother you, but it could do an innocent fetus real harm and end up with you miscarrying. Do you want that?"

"No, of course not!" Jill shook her head as she grudgingly dressed. "But we don't have to do the crazy stuff. We can be more conventional until I deliver. I don't mind." She chuckled. "And you can't be serious about holding off. You're hornier than I am I lot of the time."

"While that may be true, now I'm very determined to exercise restraint," Christian told her and put a hand on her shoulder. "But don't worry. You won't have to be entirely without. I'll go and buy you a vibrator if you want. That's better than nothing, right? Or…do you know how to masturbate?"

"Yes, but it won't be as good," Jill pouted. "I'm really not liking this change in you. The baby won't come to any harm!"

"I know," Christian nodded. "Us being celibate will make that an absolute certainty." He paused. "So do you want the vibrator or not?"

"I guess," Jill nodded. "But you better promise to get the best one you can find!"

"Of course," Christian assured her as he took her in his arms to kiss her. "Only the best for you, I swear."

* * *

"Will you tell me about myself?" Christian asked John. "Will you tell me why I am the way I am? Or what the hell I am and why?" He paused. "Well, I know _why,_ " he said. "But not all the other stuff." Why is it that I change into a monster every time I get upset? What did you do to me to make that happen?"

"It's complicated," John told him. "It's that…you have a demon in you. No, wait. You _are_ a demon, who can take on a very pleasing human appearance, in addition to the genetic business you got from us. I think."

"A _demon?"_ Christian asked. "Well that sure as hell explains a lot. How in the hell did that work? Did you call a demon up and ask them to possess Mother so you could have a powerful and dark child?"

"Well, they're a very powerful bunch, like you say," John replied. "They must've seen your mother and thought, 'Well, she looks like a good host'. That's really the best guess I can make."

"Is it?" Christian asked. "Are you _positive_ that you can't tell me more? Cause I think Jill deserves to know just what sort of creature she'll be playing host to someday."

"It's just so _darling_ how you care about that woman and her feelings," John told him.

"Yeah, I know," Christian remarked. "Maybe if you did the same with Mother, she'd be living with you and not holed up at her parents' house and hating you with every breath she takes. Did you ever think of that?"

John narrowed his eyes. "We can't have one visit without you making some smart remark about your mother, can we?" He asked.

"No," Christian said firmly. "We can't. Not after how badly you treated her."

"Well, that's why I made that potion that I presume you're going to be giving Jill when she becomes pregnant," John told him. "I didn't realize it would cause your mother such pain and I didn't want her or any woman you impregnate to go through the same thing."

"Well, good for you for fixing your own problems," Christian remarked. "And I'll try and remember that about the potion."

"Good," John grinned. "And I have to ask: while you stand here and berate me for not being good to your mother, how long has it been since _you_ have paid her a visit?"

"I'm going to soon," Christian replied, prickling at his father's tone. "It's just…something's come up. I'll give her a call, all right?"

"Good," John nodded. "Let that be a lesson to you to not act all high and mighty unless you can really afford to." He paused as the clock chimed. "You want to stay for a late lunch?" He asked.

"No, thanks," Christian shook his head. "I think I'd rather go home now. Maybe some other time though."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," John told him and walked with him to the door, his brown eyes full of a surprising lightness. "See you later, son."

Christian nodded and pulled the door open. "See you later, Father."

* * *

"I have something to tell you about me," Christian confessed to Jill. "About…why I am the way that I am. Or what I am."

"Okay," Jill nodded. "I've wondered about this. Did your father tell you?"

"He did," Christian nodded. "Apparently, somehow, when I was born, unlike most people, it wasn't a good soul that gave me life, but an evil, demonic one. Dad didn't exactly explain why there were demonic forces hovering around my mother as she was giving birth, but…given how both my parents are I can't say I'm very surprised. So this demon spirit took hold of my body and gave me life, and it's gonna be part of our baby's genes too, like I told you before. I know you were scared of my demon appearance. Will you be scared of it in the baby too?"

"No," Jill replied. "The first time I saw it was a bit of a shock for sure, but it'll be something I'll just have to get used to, especially if our child will be the same way. They'll need to see you in your demon form from time to time so they don't feel so lost like you did. There's no way around that."

"And what made you have this idea?" Christian asked with a smile. "You seem much easier going about this now."

"Yeah, well, I had a night to sleep on it," Jill replied. "And that helps a person work through a lot of things." She put her arms around him and gave him a kiss. "We're gonna get through this, I just know it. And when I say _this_ , I don't just mean the baby business. I mean all the other stuff, too. Like how we're gonna be stuck being enemies at some point and you're gonna destroy me. We'll get through that."

"You seem awfully sure of that," Christian smiled as he rubbed her stomach. "What if being killed or whatever changes your perspective?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said as she took his hand and kissed the palm. "No need to worry about it now."


	63. I'm Down On My Knees

John sat in his office, thinking to himself about what he'd told Christian. A lot of it had been true, but some of it had been a fib. Christian hadn't just been possessed by a demon. Not in the sense that the demon had looked at baby Christian and said, 'I want to possess you'. That would have gone against natural law. John himself had assisted in making the demon and his son one. But he couldn't tell him that. Not now. Not if he ever wanted them to have the kind of relationship that would allow Christian to serve his purpose. If he told him now, it would just ruin everything, wouldn't it? He paused, picked up a tea cup from his desk, took a sip, then gagged and went to get himself something much stronger. He would need it if he didn't want to think about what had happened with the demons at Christian's birth. And then there was the other thing that he didn't want to admit to himself, even though it had been eating away at his mind for several days now, in fact, ever since Freya had run away from him and holed up at her parents' place: he missed her and he wanted her to come back. It had been okay being alone at first; he'd been able to brush off the feelings and tell himself he was better off alone, but all this talk about Christian having a good relationship with Jill had made him begin to miss Freya more strongly, to the point where he couldn't just ignore it. He had to get her back here, that's all there was to it. And he would have to do it soon if he didn't want his emotions to eat him alive.

* * *

That night, Christian watched Jill button herself into one of his shirts and as she got into bed next to him, she said, "I hope you don't mind my wearing this. When I get fat, I'll be doing it all the time."

"Well, I don't mind at all," Christian replied and took her in his arms. "If you want to wear my shirts that badly, I'll set some aside for you, all right?"

"Sounds good," she smiled and snuggled against him.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Sure," Jill nodded. "What's your question?"

"Why are you still here?" Christian asked. "Why did you never leave me? You could have at any time."

She gave him a small laugh and put a hand on his face. "Well, I'm not stupid," she said. "You would have killed me if I left, right? And I much prefer being alive."

Christian grinned. "Yes, of course. But is that all?"

Jill just shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise. "You really don't know by now, do you?" She asked. "I've always thought that the way I've behaved toward you would have made the reason why I never left really obvious, but I guess not."

"Yeah," Christian nodded. "I'm sorry to say this, but…I think you'll need to spell it out for me."

She took his face in her hands and kissed him long and deep before saying, "I love you, okay? I know it's crazy and with the prophecy over our heads, it's probably the dumbest decision I could have made. I know that, I get it. But I don't regret any of it. I don't. I love you, Christian."

He had been looking in her eyes before, his gaze full of light and love. But now that she'd made her confession, he became somber and avoided her gaze. Looking away from her, he didn't speak like a man who'd just been told he was loved. "I don't know how you can say that," he muttered. "I don't deserve your love. You don't know what you're saying. You've completely lost your mind. You can't love someone who kidnapped you. You just can't."

"Hey," Jill snapped her fingers. "You look at me. You didn't kidnap me. I chose to come to you. Sure, anyone looking at the situation from the outside would say that you coerced me into it, and maybe you did, if I'm going to be totally honest. But I don't care anymore."

"What about how I forced you to stay locked in the apartment?" Christian questioned. "Doesn't _that_ bother you at all?"

"No, because I left," Jill reminded him. "You let me leave and then I came back."

"But you could still be considered my prisoner," Christian told her stubbornly cause he was drowning in shame.

"You know, I really prefer a different title," Jill smiled. "One that's much more accurate."

"Oh?" Christian raised an eyebrow. "And just what is that?"

"Undeniably hot lover extraordinaire and super freak," Jill replied with a wink. "You can't say that's not accurate, can you?"

"No, no I can't," Christian shook his head. "Would it be pointless to bring up the fact that I forced us to have sex in the beginning?"

"Yes, it would," Jill nodded resolutely. "Cause you forced nothing. I gave myself to you of my own free will."

"I forced you to have a baby," Christian got out in a last ditch attempt to get her to tell him that he was a bad person and needed to face up to his wrongs. "You can't deny I did that."

"That's true, you did," Jill agreed, and for a moment, Christian smiled, thinking that at last, she would be sensible and give him the scolding he deserved. But he was disappointed. "You did," Jill continued. "But I've scolded you for that, I've gotten out my feelings, and now…now I'm looking forward to parenthood."

He growled and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Damn it, Jill! Can I do _nothing_ wrong in your eyes?"

Jill removed his hands and sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I get what you're saying. I get that you can't accept my love until I yell at you. Or maybe you don't want to accept it at all. Maybe you just want me to have your babies and not try and put any emotion between us because you don't feel the same about me that I do about you. I get it. I understand."

There was a long silence and soon, Christian was picking at a loose thread on the comforter and avoiding Jill's gaze again. And though she might have imagined it, Jill thought she saw some tears fall from his eyes.

"Christian?" She asked and reached out to put a hand on his arm.

Then he grabbed her wrist and brought his head up, sounding as if he were struggling to breathe.

"Are you okay?" She asked, feeling somewhat alarmed. "Are you okay? Do we need to get you a doctor?"

He zapped up a piece of paper and wrote some words down, showing them to her as he tried to catch his breath.

"I need to tell you something," she read out loud. "But I can't because the words are stuck in my throat."

He then held out another piece of paper to her, but she crumpled it up and threw it on the floor. "Come on," she encouraged. "Whatever you need to say, you can say it. I know you can."

He cleared his throat, and even though his voice was hoarse, she understood what he was saying. "I-I forced this baby on you because I was afraid that if I didn't, you would leave me for good. You're the only person in my whole life who's ever actually cared about me, and the thought of being abandoned by you, however unreasonable it might have been, just scared the hell out of me. Did I tell you this already?"

"No," Jill shook her head. "I don't think you did. So you're telling me that getting me pregnant had _nothing_ to do with your father? He didn't ask you to do this to me?"

Christian chuckled ruefully. "Well, let's just say he's not against the idea of me having offspring at all. But it was mostly about me. I really _did_ want you to stay with me."

"For the sex?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian shook his head. "Well, yes," he quickly amended because he knew she'd see right through that. "Yes, for the sex, but because of something else too."

"Yes?" Jill pressed. "And what's that? You can say it. I won't judge you. I won't laugh. In fact, it would be _very_ gratifying to hear."

"Because," he got out and took Jill's hand. "Because I…because I feel…I….I…I…I l-" Then his whole body shook as he began to cry. He grabbed her, pulled her close against himself, and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Jill. I really do."

Jill began sniffling too after giving a brief, relieved laugh. "See?" She said before zapping up some tissues so they could both wipe their eyes. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Yes," Christian said immediately. "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Jill smiled. "Thanks for doing it anyway, though. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Christian told her. Then he yawned. "I don't know about you, but that took a lot out of me. I'm ready to go to sleep."

"Me too," Jill agreed. "I'll do the covers if you'll do the lights."

So Christian got out of bed and went to turn the lights off, then when he was back in bed and comfortably snuggled next to her, Jill pulled the covers over both of them before they told each other 'Good night' one last time and fell asleep.

* * *

It was after getting himself good and drunk that John decided to call Freya and ask her to come back to him. He managed to find Mikael's number and then called it. He was so drunk that even when it was Mikael who answered, he babbled on as if he were talking to Freya instead.

"I want you to come back to me," He ordered. "We've been apart long enough and I've had it. I hate being alone and you do too, so why don't you just admit it?"

"I will admit nothing," Mikael told him. "Who the hell is this?"

"Who the hell are you?" John slurred into the phone. "I thought I was talking to Freya."

There was a pause of some length and then Freya's irritated voice sounded. "What the hell do you want, John?" She asked. "Whatever it is, I'm in no mood to give it to you."

"Maybe you'll change your mind when you come back," John told her. "When should I stop by to bring you back?"

"Never!" Freya shouted. "There are many things I'd like to do to you after what you put me through, but sharing your house and your bed again are _not_ on the list!"

"Wonderful!" John replied. "I'll be there in a little while."

"Just so you know, John's coming by to take me home," Freya warned Mikael and Gwen. "And it should go without saying that when he shows up, you don't let him in the house."

"Of course not," Mikael agreed. "It was painfully obvious that he was drunk on the phone. There's no way he's coming in here." He turned to face Gwen. "Isn't that right, Gwendolyn?"

"Well, I can't say I particularly like the man," Gwen conceded and pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "And I think it would be best for him to go home and sober up before he tries to do anything."

"So basically we're all in agreement that he's not coming in here," Freya smiled. "Good."

But they all knew that even if they didn't let him in, he would find some other way to see her. So they waited until they heard a deafening crash in the front yard.

"What the hell was that?" Gwen asked as they all ran to the door.

"I'll give you three guesses," Freya said through her teeth. "I should have known John would be dumb enough to drive here while he was hammered."

They went outside and when they saw the scene in their front yard, Gwen nearly passed out. John had run into her prized apple tree. "My apple tree," she said over and over. "My god, not my apple tree."

Mikael then offered to 'have a word' with John while Freya took Gwen inside, but Freya refused him.

"Thanks, but I can deal with this," she told her father confidently. "He just smashed into tree and he's drunk off his ass. How much of a threat could he be?" She watched her father carry Gwen inside while she continued her sad muttering about her tree, and then started very badly when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hello, Freya," John got out. He truly _did_ look like he'd been in a car accident. She was surprised he'd been able to walk over to her after getting out of the wreck. "Surprised to see me?"

"Yes, I am, after the mess you made of the car and Gwen's apple tree," Freya replied. "She loved that tree, you know. After she recovers from the shock of seeing it so busted up, she'll probably kill you."

"In my defense, I probably came out of it worse than the tree did," John pointed out, indicating his injured face and body, and reached out for her. "Why don't you feel sorry for _me_?"

"Cause you chose to drive here drunk so the accident is your own fault," Freya responded. "Now tell me what you want so I can say you'll never get it and we can move on with our lives."

He then dropped to his knees. Freya wasn't sure if he was trying to beg for forgiveness or giving into pain from the car accident so she stood over him with her arms crossed and waited to see what would happen next.

"I know you're mad," he told her. "I also know that you care about me, no matter how much you try and hide it."

"You think?" Freya scoffed. "I really believe you should have a doctor look at you. I think you hit your head and it messed up your brain."

"Oh, you can pretend all you want," John told her. "But you're not hiding your feelings very well."

"If this is you groveling, you've done the worst job of it I've ever seen," Freya replied. "If you want me to come back to you, if you're really serious about us being together, I'm sure you wouldn't mind groveling a little, would you? Or a lot?"

It should go without saying that John was not usually the groveling type, but if that's what it took to get her to come back, then he supposed he was willing to swallow his pride just this once. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm sorry for the pain you had to go through with Christian. I'm sorry I used you for my own selfish gain. I'm sorry I made you hate me so much that you up and left and we haven't really talked since. But honestly, I've been very lonely at home. Please come home, Freya. If you do, I'll be a much better man for you, I promise. You deserve that."

She gave him a long look and then kneeled down and let him kiss her. "So you're coming back?" He asked hopefully.

"Oh, John," Freya smiled as she cupped his face with her hands and leaned in close. "I wouldn't come back with you, even if you gave me a million dollars and all the empty promises and manipulations in the world won't change that. I'm not the girl you were able to con into having your child. I've grown. Now go home and don't come back here ever again." She got up and wiped the dirt off her pants, leaving him kneeling alone in Mikael and Gwen's front yard and strode back into the house, slamming the door behind her.


	64. Purely A Matter Of Need

The recent bond with Junior had made Christian more intent on staying away from John than ever before, both because he didn't want to risk giving away the plan _and_ because he felt that the current situation warranted watching Jill and their future child even more closely in case John got ideas.

This had both good and bad side effects: John, of course, got very upset that Christian was ignoring him and took to calling every day, usually more than once.

"Why won't you talk to me?" He always barked into the phone. "You can't ignore me forever, you know. And I would think that you'd rather discuss things with me on the phone than have me come to your house and be near your family."

"Is that a threat?" Christian shouted. "I would have thought that you'd have learned from the debacle with Mother that threats do _not_ make people do what you want."

"Oh, I disagree," John told him. "If they're carried out, they tend to be very effective at getting people to do what I want. Would you like proof?"

"No, I wouldn't," Christian told him. "Don't do anything stupid that you might regret later."

"I've never regretted anything in my life," John told him. "Goodbye."

* * *

It didn't take him long to carry out his threat. He wanted to make sure Christian knew he was absolutely serious and wouldn't be so stupid as to challenge him like this in the future. The next day, he showed up at Jill and Christian's apartment and forced his way inside after Christian initially denied him entry. He then strode into the bedroom where Jill was napping and roughly shook her awake. When Christian tried to stop him, John gave him a zap that sent him flying into the wall, hitting it hard and landing in a heap on the floor. But Christian was determined. He got up, took a deep breath, and tried to rush John again, but his father just zapped him with a spell that kept him against the wall, unable to move.

"Let him go!" Jill cried. "He's your son! Do you remember that at all?"

"I do," John nodded. "But part of being a parent is teaching your children very important life lessons. I need to teach him one now. And I'm really sorry you have to be involved in this, dear. It's nothing personal."

"That is the most insincere bullshit I've ever heard!" Jill cried.

John then ordered Jill out of bed, held her in front of himself, zapped up a knife to put at her throat with one hand, and put his other hand on her stomach. His hand began to pulse with power, just as Jill screamed loudly, over and over and over.

"It hurts!" She cried. "Oh, my god, it hurts!"

Christian growled and tried his best to move himself from the wall where he'd been stuck, but the spell held him right where he was.

"Stop hurting her!" He yelled. "What's the point in you asking me to get Jill pregnant to further your goals if you're just gonna kill the baby?"

"I'm not going to kill the child," John replied irritably and put a worn out and whimpering Jill back on the bed. "The baby is fine. It's tougher than you think."

"Well, it better be," Christian spat. "You wanna release me now?"

"Not really," John shook his head. "Have you learned your lesson? Will you be foolish enough to challenge me again?"

"No," Christian replied reluctantly as John freed him and he ran to check on Jill. "From now on, the only person making your life a living hell is Mother, and that's a promise."

* * *

"How could you do something like that to Jill and our son?" Freya cried, storming into John's house after hearing from Christian what John had done to Jill. "You're just damn lucky that she didn't lose the baby, or I'd really make you sorry!"

"Why would I make her lose the baby?" John asked. "I need that child. I'm not an idiot. I told Christian that Jill was in no danger. He was just being over dramatic so you'd do something unnecessary like storm over here and cause all kinds of unnecessary trouble for me. And while I'm used to that, can it wait? I have company." He indicated Edele who had made her usual appearance since this was a time of stress in his life. "If you want to keep yelling at me, you'll have to get in line."

"What are you doing here?" Freya spat at Edele. "None of this is any of your business. Stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong and go away!"

"Oh, I intend to," Edele smiled. "It just…it gives me great joy to see you so frustrated and miserable. Life with John isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?"

"That's none of your fucking business, is it?" Freya spat, suddenly feeling completely the opposite of how she'd felt when she'd come through the door. "We can make it work. Just because you screwed up doesn't mean the same will happen to me."

"Really?" John asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that interesting?"

"Don't get too cocky," Freya warned.

"Edele, would you leave us, please?" He requested of his ex. "Don't you have other things to do besides causing trouble for me?"

"I suppose I do," Edele sighed. "But they aren't as fun."

"Good," John told her, locking eyes with Freya. "I have things to do, so go along your merry way."

"Fine," Edele replied. "It's been a while since I've checked on my sons anyway. Maybe they have something to tell me that will make them much more riveting to be around then you are right now, John."

"Goodbye!" Freya called. "And if you forget the address and don't come back, we won't hate you for it."

"Well, isn't this interesting?" John chuckled. "You don't want to play with the toy until you see someone else wants it." He grinned. "Well, now I'm all yours." He began undressing. "So…where do you want to do it?"

"Oh, get dressed would you?" Freya asked, screwing up her face in disgust. "I don't want to do anything with you anywhere. Especially if it involves any kind of nakedness."

"Are you sure?" John asked, coming toward her, grabbing her, and pulling her against him before sniffing her hair. "How long has it been for you dear? Answer honestly. Has it been long enough that even I'm starting to look desirable? I think that's why you were jealous of Edele. I really do."

"And I think you're self-absorbed and delusional," Freya replied. "It's refreshing to know you haven't changed. I would have hated to come over here and see you actually being nice to me so my opinion of you would need to change. I just don't think I'm ready for that."

John kissed her and as they pulled apart, he whispered in her ear, "You don't have to like someone to have sex with them. Isn't that so?"

"Yes," Freya replied and slapped him. "But I'm not that desperate. I have my pride. She then gasped as she felt him squeeze her bottom.

"And that is your biggest downfall," he smirked and nibbled on her earlobe, his hand going up her bare back and down her arms. "So pretty, so haughty, so proud. But that's just a mask, isn't it? Deep down, you have needs just like everyone else, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Freya replied as her breath began to pick up. "But you won't be the one fulfilling them."

"Yes, I will," John nodded. "If you were horrified about what I did to Jill, just know that that will be a picnic compared to what I will do to you if you don't admit the truth to yourself and come back to me."

"Oh, you're a real prince," Freya spat. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"No," John shook his head as he began to pull down the zipper on her plum colored dress. "Can't say they have."

"And they never will," Freya shot back.

"I don't need anyone to tell me I'm good," John said with a smile as he set Freya down on his desk, slid off her panties and unzipped his pants. "Other people's opinions really don't matter to me." He then pushed into her over and over again as she put her arms around his neck, her head falling forward onto his shoulder, grunts escaping from her lips with every thrust.

"Oh, god," she got out. "I hate you," she told him. "I hate you, I hate you."

"But you need this," John chuckled. "I know you do, so don't pretend." Then he laid her on the desk, pulled out for a moment, spread her legs and entered her again, over and over and over.

When he was finally finished and she was lying limp on his desk, he leaned down to kiss her before pulling her up to sit and handing her her panties to put back on as she tried to find her breath again.

"Don't you have something you want to say to me?" He asked.

"If it's something complimentary you want to hear, it won't happen," Freya replied. "Sure, you met a need, and I suppose I'm grateful. But don't read any more into it than that."

"Oh, I would never," John replied, lifting her off the desk and giving her a spanking. "When do you want to do this again? Same time next week? Or how about tomorrow, when I come and get your things?"

"You're a pig, John," Freya spat at him with narrowed eyes. "You're dirt."

"I may be dirt," John told her, getting right up in her face and brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. "But you're the one who likes to roll around in it, Freya my dear."

* * *

"Who's on the phone?" Jill asked from her spot on the sofa later that day.

"It's my mother!" Christian told her. "She's very upset."

"Oh, what happened?" Jill asked. "Does it have something to do with your father? I bet it does, cause the guy is an absolute asshole."

"I know exactly what happened, but I don't want to repeat it," Christian shuddered. "Then the images will start coming to my head and I could be very happy without them."

"What could possibly be as bad as all that?" Jill pressed. "Did they have sex or something?"

"Yes!" Christian cried and shut his eyes tight. "Yes, they did, and that is why Mother is full of shame! I don't know why she decided to tell me, though. It's none of my business. I think I need a drink."

"You _do_ remember that I'm still here?" Freya asked from the other end of the line. "And you should be careful with your drinking."

"Now be reasonable!" Christian told her. "We both know that's how you're dealing with it, so don't you dare lecture me for using the same method!"

"Why not?" Freya asked. " _I_ was the one who actually had to experience what I'm telling you. You just have to hear it second hand because I can't deal with keeping it to myself."

"And I'm the only person you can think of to tell?" Christian huffed. "Don't you have siblings you can talk to? Or even Gwen?"

"I can't talk to Gwen," Freya told him. "John crashing into her apple tree has made her very critical of him (why she wasn't as much before, I don't know), so if she hears what happened, or that part of me didn't hate it, I'll never hear the end of it."

"And it seems like as long as this goes on between you and Dad, _I'll_ never hear the end of it," Christian sighed. "Thank you so much for that."

"Here, give me the phone," Jill said and held her hand out to him. "If you don't want to hear your mother complain about John, I'll be more than happy to listen."

"You see, she's nice," Freya remarked as Christian took the phone away from his ear. "You could learn a thing or two about being selfless from her."

"Yes," Christian replied as Jill began talking and he rubbed her stomach, gasping and nearly crying with relief when he felt a kick, something that made him forget all about his need to drink. "Yes, I can."


	65. Making A Commitment

Sam and Leslie decided that the first thing they would do now that they were engaged was tell his mother.

"We can't keep this from her," Leslie said. "We have to tell her as soon as possible. Then we can get my ring or whatever after that and you can get the tattoo that matches mine."

"I'm gonna have to have a picture to give to the guy," Sam told her.

"You will?" Leslie asked in surprise. "I would have thought that you have what my ass looks like memorized by now."

"I do," Sam grinned. "It's the tattoo that I don't remember so well."

They then drove to Selina and Elijah's house and she let them in. "Well, look at you two!" She smiled. "Back together and everything. That's so nice."

"Yeah, it is," Leslie nodded and kissed Sam on the cheek before he pulled out a chair for her to sit down in. "The time apart made me realize how much I love him. Which is why when he asked him to marry me, I said 'Yes'."

"That's so nice!" Selina gushed. "So…have you gotten the ring yet?"

"No, we thought we would come and tell you first, then Dad and Annie, and _then_ get the ring."

"I actually don't know if I want a ring," Leslie said. "Maybe a necklace." She looked at Selina. "Is that weird?"

"No, it's not weird," Selina shook her head and stood up. "Wait just a second and I'll show you."

She strode off and Leslie said to Sam, "What is she getting? What is she going to show us?"

"Well, it can't be the actual locket that my father got her when they were humans and got engaged because it's tainted with bad memories and she got rid of it years ago," Sam said. "But maybe she's gonna show you a picture."

"Your dad got your mom a necklace?" Leslie smiled. "That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, it was a solid silver locket," Sam told her. "Shaped like a heart with Mom's initials, S.W.S. But when Dad went off to war and Mom got turned into a vampire, the guy who turned her took it from her and buried it in his front yard."

"Why would he do that?" Leslie asked, wrinkling her nose. "That's so stupid!"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he thought that if he buried the necklace, she'd forget about Dad and just be with him. There's a bit of folklore surrounding it, but I've never really taken time to know the story."

A few minutes later, Selina came back and showed them a black and white photo of her wearing a heart-shaped locket, just like Sam said.

"Is that when you were human?" Leslie asked.

"Yep," Selina nodded. "Yes, it was. My mother didn't want me to have this picture taken, so I grabbed some of the jewelry that my father's mother left for me and sold it in order to have the money to pay for the portrait myself. I wasn't gonna have her erase what I had with Damon just because she didn't like it."

"Well, it looks like a beautiful locket anyway," Leslie remarked and reached out for the picture so she could have a better look. "Sam told me you got rid of it, though."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It was a real shame to have to, but there were just so many bad memories attached to it. Plus once Damon and I weren't together anymore, it seemed sort of weird to keep it around." She paused and cleared her throat. "But enough about me. Any ideas about what you're gonna do for the wedding? I know you probably just got engaged and haven't had much time to think about it, but…anything in your heads?"

"Well, I think it will be pretty easy to figure out," Sam replied and then looked at Leslie. "I think we should get married at Roxie's, don't you?"

"Yep," Leslie nodded. "Where _else_ would we get married?"

"That's a very logical choice," Selina replied. "But would you mind…would you mind if I threw you a party that was a little bigger before that?"

"I thought you hated big parties," Sam told her. "You always said they reminded you of Grandma Amelia's shameless excess that made your human life so miserable."

"Yeah, I know," Selina nodded. "But…you're my son and I know I haven't done much for you in your life, so I just…I want to show you that I care."

Leslie and Sam looked at one another. "All right," Sam said at last. "As long as we still have the actual wedding at the bar, I suppose a big party beforehand wouldn't hurt."

"Thank you!" Selina told him and gave them both hugs. "I'm so happy for you. I really am. I hope…I hope you have a good life together."

"Don't worry about that," Sam said with a smile as he squeezed Leslie's hand. "We definitely will."

* * *

"Sammy's getting married, Sammy's getting married!" Selina sang as she danced into Elijah's office once he told her she could come in.

"He's what?" Elijah asked in surprise. "You mean your son Sam? Son of Damon 'I can't commit to anyone' Salvatore? _That_ Sam?"

"Yes, that Sam," Selina nodded. "He and that nice girl Leslie he was seeing finally decided to make things permanent."

"You mean the one that he was always fighting with at the bar?" Elijah asked in amazement. "The one who broke up with him and said she wanted someone better?"

"I'm surprised you know all that," Selina remarked. "I didn't think you had any interest in anything remotely connected to Sam."

"Well, for the longest time, I didn't," Elijah admitted. "But lately, I've…I've changed my stance on that a bit. And plus I heard it from Lucy. I _always_ listen to Lucy."

"That figures." Selina nodded. "Oh, and they're letting me throw them a really fancy engagement party. Would you be interested in helping with that, or should I just tell my mother and let her be my second in command?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" Elijah asked. "Cause my wife hates big fancy engagement parties."

"Yeah, I know I do, but…Sam getting married makes me think of Joshua getting married, and the party we had when Joshua got married…it was nice. And I want…I want to do the same thing for Sam," Selina explained, finally sitting down in the chair across from him instead of pacing around the office like she'd been doing.

"Your sons with Damon make you very sentimental, don't they?" Elijah remarked. "Much more so than you are about your children with me or Niklaus."

"I know and that's probably not fair, but…that's how it is and I don't know why." Selina shrugged. "So will you help me with Sam's party? Please? It'll help you not feel so neglected in all this." She paused. "Well, at least I _hope_ it will."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "Between you, me, and your mother doing the planning, I think it's going to be a very interesting affair."

"Yeah," Selina replied with a grin. "But also a very classy one."

* * *

"This isn't a joke, Freya," John told her as he zipped up after their latest encounter on his desk over the last several days and she smoothed out her skirt before looking around for where he'd thrown her panties. "I was patient before, but now when I say I want you to come home, I mean it."

"And what will you do if I don't?" Freya asked. "How could you possibly scare me?"

"Well, you know that I could very easily kill your father," John said. "I know how much you care about him. And after I'm done with him, I'll just kill everyone that I see until you come to me."

"Oh, you really think I'll be moved by the death of a bunch of random civilians?" Freya asked. "If you wanna kill 'em, go ahead. Go ahead and kill them all! I don't care."

"And what about your father?" John asked. "Don't you care about him?"

"You can't do anything to my father," Freya got out. "I'd love to see you try."

"All right, fine," John nodded. "Your wish is my command." He then froze Freya so she wouldn't zap herself to her father's house to try and stop him before heading off to take Mikael on.

* * *

Mikael was just settling down to watch some television when he heard a crash and a high-pitched scream, followed by Gwen's voice calling out, "Mikael, help me!"

He bounded off the bed, kicked down the door and ran in the direction of Gwen's voice. "Just hang on, Gwendolyn!" He called. "I'm coming!" But when he reached where the voice was coming from, he just saw John. He rolled his eyes, swore, and prepared to fight, and John actually let him throw a few punches before he used a spell to make him basically immobile, whacked him over the head, and then brought him home to Freya.

* * *

"Oh, my god," Freya gasped as she watched John drag the unconscious and bleeding Mikael into her and drop his body at her feet. "You _did_ kill him!"

"No, I didn't," John shook his head. "He's just unconscious. I was feeling merciful."

"And what is it that you're trying to prove by doing this?" Freya asked, hands on her hips.

"Well, if you don't come back home with me, I _will_ kill him. It shouldn't be that hard of a choice for you to make, should it?"

"You really need to learn how to ask people for favors," Freya narrowed her eyes. "If you're nice, people tend to be more willing to do what you ask. If you had just waited, I probably would have gotten bored and come back."

"You're just saying that," John told her. "I don't believe you."

"Why not?" Freya asked. "Our association began because of a choice I made. You didn't have to coerce me in the beginning. My family was boring. You weren't. Why did you think that would change?"

"Cause you ran away from me!" John yelled. "I think that's a pretty good fucking indicator of a change of heart."

"I only ran away because you were being a jerk to me and our son!" Freya shot back. "I hoped that my leaving would get the message through that thick head of yours that you needed to shape up and start treating me nicely, but instead you just got worse! What is your _problem_ , John?!"

"I don't know," John shook his head. "I really don't…but maybe if you came home with me, I would do better. Like that Jill does for Christian. It's annoying as hell to me, but she really has changed him."

"Yes, I noticed," Freya nodded and sighed. "Fine. Fine. Just…just wake up my father and…and I'll agree to come here and stay a few nights a week. I'll even be in the same bed as you." She then zapped her purse in and pulled out her planner. "I'm available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Would that work for you?"

John then growled and snatched the book out of her hands, throwing it against the wall. "What would work for me is if you moved in full time and never left, but if you really won't stay every night, can't you at least give me a weekend?"

"No, sorry," Freya shook her head. "That's when I have a life. Take what I give your or leave it."

"Give me a weekend or I won't wake up your father," John said. "Friday and the weekend."

"Seriously?" Freya scoffed. "You're such a child!"

"No, that would be if I made you stay all week," John said. "You should be thanking me for agreeing to go with your compromise."

"Fine," Freya sighed. "Fridays and the weekend, I'll be here."

"With your sexiest outfits?" John questioned.

"Fine!" Freya nodded. "Now wake up my father, damn it!"

John awakened Mikael, then zapped him home, making it end up so he was wrapped snug in his and Gwen's bed and had no idea about what had happened to him. "There you go," he said with a smile. "And since it happens to be Friday…why don't you go and pack your things? If you need any help, let me know."

"I won't," Freya replied as they headed to the door. "I can handle it myself." She glared when she saw that he was still behind her. "You don't have to come with me."

"I think I do," John nodded. "No offense or anything."

"Fine," Freya told him. "Let's just go and get this over with, shall we?"

"You're so romantic," John remarked.

"Yeah," Freya agreed. "Just as romantic as you."

"I've always thought of myself as _very_ romantic," John told her, and then opened the car door for her. "See?"

"Thank you," Freya told him. "You sit in the back."

"All right," John agreed, much to Freya's surprise. "And remember to bring that dark blue dress with the floaty sleeves. I always thought that went beautifully with your eyes."

"Really?" Freya asked. "I wasn't planning on leaving it behind, but I guess…I guess I definitely won't now."

"Good," John smiled and sat back in his seat as Freya put her foot on the gas. "That's very good."

* * *

Sam had been knocking on Christian's apartment door for quite some time, even though no one had come to let him in. He heard them talking. He knew they were home.

"My god, Christian," said a female voice. "Why don't you just answer the door? They're obviously not going away."

"It's probably my father," Christian huffed. "Who else would visit us?"

"I would," Sam finally called. "It's Sam. May I come in, please?"

"Sam?" Christian asked as he opened the door and invited his friend in. They'd seen one another at the bar a few more times since their first meeting, but he never thought he would see his friend at his apartment. "Sorry about that. I thought you were my father. Come in."

"Thanks," Sam smiled and sat down next to Jill on the sofa. She was showing more obviously now and Sam tried not to stare as he said to Christian, "I came to ask you something important, but if you don't want to do it, it's all right."

"I want to at least hear what it is first," Christian told him.

"I just got engaged," Sam told him. "And…I would be honored if you would come to my wedding."

"Thanks, but…wouldn't it make the rest of your guests really nervous to have me there?" Christian asked. "I'm honored, but…I don't want to wreck the festivities by making everyone run for the exits right in the middle."

"Who cares what other people think?" Sam shrugged. "The point is that you're my friend and I want you there on my special day. I mean, if you really don't want to come, I can respect that, but if you're just trying to spare my feelings or not wanting to come for my sake, please don't. I wouldn't have asked you if I really cared about how people would react to you."

Christian hesitated and then turned to Jill, his skin slowly beginning to gray as he got more and more nervous and flustered. "What should I do?"

"I think if he wants you to come, you should go," Jill replied. "Do you _want_ to go?"

"Of course," Christian replied and then looked at Sam. "He's one of the only friends I have." He took a few deep breaths and as his skin tone got back to normal, he took Sam's hand. "Sure, I'll come to your wedding," he said. "I-I really would be honored. It would be my pleasure."

"Oh, trust me," Sam replied as he gave Christian a hug, and he saw Jill grinning widely at him over Christian's shoulder. "The pleasure of having you there is all mine."


	66. The Big Party

"I can't believe you and Leslie are getting married," Annie said after Sam told her and Damon.

"I can't believe you let your mother throw you a big fancy engagement party," Damon added. "Did she force you? Or use guilt?"

"I wondered what it would hurt," Sam said with a shrug. "I didn't think it would. I don't have many occasions to get dressed up. And the thought of doing something for me made her so happy I couldn't refuse." He then pulled a square black box out of and put it down on the table.

"Is that the ring?" Annie asked, eyes widening. "Let me see it! Let me see it!"

"It's not a ring," Sam said as he opened it. "It's a necklace, Dad. Just like you gave Mom." They all looked into the box and saw a heart-shaped, rose-gold locket with three rows of tiny crystals around the front, also in a heart shape. The letters L and S were engraved on the front.

"Wow," Annie whispered with awe. "How much did that set you back?"

"Quite a bit more than I usually spend," Sam told him. "I had to sell one of my guitars to get the money. But I think Leslie's worth it and I never really used that guitar anyway."

"Is that what you tell yourself so you don't miss it as much?" Annie asked and put a hand on his back.

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "Is that selfish? When you do stuff like that, are you just supposed to be glad that you did it and have no regrets whatsoever?"

"No, you can feel loss," Annie assured him. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"You could have told me that you needed money," Damon told him. "I would have helped you."

"Thanks, but I don't think that's a very good precedent to set," Sam told him. "It's for _my_ engagement and _my_ marriage, so I think I should handle it. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Not a problem," Damon nodded. "Whatever you think is best. I'm proud of you for taking the responsibility."

They lapsed into silence and then Sam said, "You know, Mom told me that you two are invited to my party if you want to come."

"I like your mom," Annie said. "I'll come!"

Damon grinned. "And the look on Elijah's face when I come strolling across his doorstep cause he knows he won't be able to toss me out on my ass is just too good of a chance to pass up." And then when Sam gave him a look, he said, "That, of course, is secondary to wanting to come in order to celebrate your engagement, which is _also_ important to me."

"Is it?" Sam asked.

"Well, of course it is!" Damon replied. "I can't wait to see if you're better at this whole marriage thing than I am. I hope you are."

"I should be," Sam told him. "Cause I already know what life is without Leslie and it sucks. I really don't wanna go through it again."

"I guess that really bodes well for you then, doesn't it?" Damon asked and gave his son a hug.

"I think so," Sam replied with confidence. "So…I can tell Mom the two of you are coming to the party?"

"Yep," Damon nodded. "Go ahead and tell her."

* * *

"I'm so glad that Sam's mom and the others are planning the engagement party," Leslie told Clarissa, whom she'd gotten to know as she and Sam visited Selina and Elijah's house more and more to hammer out engagement party and wedding details. "If I had to do it, it would drive me nuts!"

"Are you used to having other people do it?" Clarissa asked knowingly. " _I'm_ used to having people plan that sort of thing. That's why I am so glad that Drew and I eloped."

"Well, we're not gonna have a big fancy wedding," Leslie explained. "We're gonna have it at the bar where we met. It should be fun." She paused. "Can I assume that we're gonna see you there?"

"Sure, if you want us," Clarissa nodded. "Drew loves stuff like that, and if I'm around people I like, I do too."

"Well, thank you," Leslie smiled. "You're a good sister." She gave her a hug. Then she got up as Selina approached them. "What's next on the list?" She asked. "Tell me it's something fun, like cake."

"We can do that now," Selina nodded. "Chocolate?"

"Red velvet," Leslie smiled. "Is that hard?"

"No," Selina smiled and wrote it down. "It's different. I like it." She then headed back to Elijah's office where he'd been making phone calls to people like flower vendors and caterers since early that morning. When he got off the phone, she said, "Have the people who could get you the chocolate fountain called back yet?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "We have that. But I don't know about the doves, though. That seems unsanitary."

"It's not unsanitary, it's romantic!" Selina told him. "And it's not like I'm gonna let them camp out in your office and make everything a mess until it's time to release them. They're doves, not pigeons. Doves have better manners."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're babbling on about," he told her as he checked some things off his list. "Animals are animals. Have you dealt with the flowers and the monogrammed napkins?"

"Yes, I have," Selina nodded. "I got Leslie's request for the cake, too. Oh, and do you need me to sew any buttons or anything on the suit you're gonna wear to the party?"

"No, thanks," Elijah shook his head. "I just need to take it to the cleaner." He paused. "You know, and when I say this it's meant to be a compliment, you seem a lot like your mother right now."

"I know what you mean and I'll take it as a compliment," Selina told him. "I never really thought much about her ability to multitask and party plan, but in times like this, I'm glad that I apparently got some of that skill."

"Did you ask her to help you?" Elijah asked. "Or are you doing this all by yourself?"

His question was then answered when Amelia poked her blonde head in the door and gave two loud claps that caused Selina to turn. "All right," she said. "No more talking! We're on a schedule! We have things to buy and cakes to bake and only so much time to do it in if we don't want to be rushing at the last minute. Come on and get a move on!"

"Yes, I asked her to help me," Selina took a deep breath and counted to ten. "But now I'm really starting to wonder if I did the right thing. My blood pressure is probably skyrocketing. Oh, and there's one more thing I feel I should warn you about before I go so you have time to mentally prepare yourself: Since it's Sam's party, I told him it was okay to ask Damon to come. I know you don't like having him around, but since it's Sam's party, it's only fair. It'll only be for a few hours. You can handle that, can't you?"

"Yes, I suppose," Elijah huffed.

"Good," Selina replied and kissed him as people rushed around outside the door. "I gotta go now before Mama comes back and yells at me some more. And don't forget about the doves!"

"Don't worry," Elijah sighed and muttered to himself once she was gone. "I won't forget about the damn doves. Or your letting Damon Salvatore into my house. That'll be something you'll hear about for ages. But at least it's only him and not my brother too. That's a small comfort if nothing else is."

* * *

"I can't believe you invited Niklaus to the party," Elijah huffed as Selina helped him with his tie. "Why did you invite him to the party tonight? He has nothing to do with Sam or Leslie. Wasn't inviting Damon bad enough?"

"I invited him to give you someone to talk to," Selina explained. "Or to distract you so that you don't kill Damon, who, as father of the groom, has every right to be there. We've discussed this a million times."

"Oh, I know that," Elijah sighed. "I promise I won't start trouble." He then stood Selina in front of him and looked her over. She wore a lavender dress and one of the diamonds necklaces Elijah had bought her during their marriage. Her hair was up so that you could really see her big blue eyes. "You look wonderful," he complimented. "I love that necklace. What wonderful husband got it for you?"

"You did," Selina smiled and kissed him. "I thought it would do you good to see me wear it." She gave him a quick kiss and then pulled up her skirts and strode to the door. "It's almost time! Would you go watch the door while I check on the last minute details?"

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "Good luck!"

Selina saluted. "Thank you!"

When Elijah got to the door, he straightened his suit jacket and rehearsed what he would say if it was Damon or Klaus on the other side of the door. But when the doorbell rang, he was relieved to see Helene and Malachai instead, along with William and Lucy.

"Well, thank goodness it's someone from the bride's side," he said jovially as he invited them in and gave Lucy a hug. "It's the people from the groom's side that are going to test me."

"Why?" Malachai asked. "You don't like them very much?"

"Sam's dad, at least, can be a bit trying sometimes," Helene replied. "But I'm sure Selina told him to be on his best behavior."

"Well, he better be because I don't want to worry about both him _and_ Klaus at the same time," Elijah said and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"You want me to get you a drink while I'm getting one for myself?" Malachai offered. "Looks like you could use it."

"And if you need help with Dad, I've got your back," Lucy added.

* * *

Elijah's worry that Damon would be sprung on him was unfounded, as Sam called Selina ahead of time before they all arrived so that she could be the one to answer the door and Elijah wouldn't have to.

"That was such a sweet thing for you to do," she praised as she hugged him after letting him, Leslie, Damon, and Annie in. "Of course he still has to deal with Klaus, but he can handle that."

"Is this everyone?" Leslie asked as she looked around the packed house. "Did you invite all my siblings?"

"Of course!" Selina nodded. "I couldn't leave anyone out."

Leslie then hugged Sam. "Sorry that you have to be overwhelmed by all my siblings."

"It's okay," Sam assured her. "I can handle it."

But Leslie wasn't convinced. She'd seen him wince. "If it gets to be too much, we can leave, I promise. I saw you wincing."

"That's because you squeezed my arm too hard," Sam told her. "It's nothing about your family."

"Oh, sorry!" Leslie apologized. He'd gotten his tattoo earlier that day and even though he'd gotten it from the same place so it was in good shape, it was still a bit tender if too much pressure was applied on it. She pulled his sleeve up and kissed it. "Is that better? Oh, and before I forget, thank you for my locket. It's gorgeous." She figured it had cost him an arm and a leg, but she didn't want to bring it up.

"Yeah, that's better," Sam nodded. "And I'm so glad you like the locket. Now we should probably go and thank people for coming since we're the guests of honor."

"You do that," Selina encouraged. "And then I'll round everyone up and we can have dinner and cake."

As they went on their way, Selina then hurried to where Elijah, Klaus, and Amy were conversing. "Sam and Leslie are here," she told them. "We can start eating soon."

"Well, and thank god for that!" Klaus told her. "My brother's not really good with the small talk, you know. I was getting bored!"

"Is that why you had so much to drink?" Amy asked. "I'm cutting you off at dinner."

"Oh, really now, Amy!" Klaus protested as she pulled him to the dinner table. "It wasn't that much! I have a high tolerance!"

"I don't want to see what happens when you reach your limit," Amy said firmly and gestured at the chair where his name card was. "Please sit down, Klaus."

Klaus huffed and sat down and Amy smiled and gave an encouraging nod before sitting down and putting her napkin in her lap. She was seated with Klaus on one side of her and Elijah on the other side with Selina on Elijah's other side.

"You think you'll manage?" Selina leaned forward and asked her.

"Yes, thank you," Amy assured her. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Dinner was soon served and the sound of many overlapping conversations filled the room. Selina watched Sam to see how he was handling things because she knew that he was more like her in situations like this: he only managed for so long before he wanted to get the hell away.

After the dinner dishes were cleared away and they were preparing the cake, Selina went over to Sam and whispered, "Are you okay? Do you need to slip away for a little bit? I can cover for you if you do."

"You know, ordinarily, I would say 'Yes'," Sam told her, squeezing Leslie's hand and giving her a kiss. "But I'm good this time. Thanks for asking, though."

"You're welcome," Selina replied and kissed his hair.

"Mom!" He said, blushing a deep red and giving her a gentle push to put her at a distance. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry," Selina told him, even though she wasn't really, and then quickly went to sit next to Elijah and leave her son in peace.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he apologized to Leslie. "Mom can get a little over-sentimental sometimes."

"I don't mind," Leslie shook her head. "I think it's nice how much your mother loves you."

They did toasts and then, just as they were about to eat cake, the room became cold. The lights flickered, and Leslie clung to Sam. "What the hell's going on?" She whispered. "Are we in some sort of danger?"

"Well, my gut says 'No'," Sam assured her and kissed her hair as his mother had done with him. "I think I know what's going on and you have nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Leslie asked. "Cause it seems like I do!"

"You see those two empty chairs across from us?" Sam whispered. "You wonder why no one came to fill them up?"

"Yeah," Leslie nodded. "Why are they even there?" She soon got her answer as two spirits materialized in the chairs right in front of her eyes. "Holy shit," she whispered. "Ghosts!"

"My brother and my grandmother," Sam told her.

"Sorry we're late," Charlotte Salvatore apologized to the group. "We just weren't sure when the right time to show up would be."

"But it seems you knew we were coming," Joshua added. "Weren't you, Mother?"

"I hoped so," Selina told him.

"Your mother _does_ realize she's talking to a ghost, right?" Leslie asked. "She's acting like this is totally normal!"

"Well, for Mom, it _is_ reasonably normal," Sam replied. Then he leaned forward as Joshua looked at Leslie with concern.

"Oh, dear," he said to his brother. "We haven't frightened her, have we?"

"No, it's my fault," Sam assured him. "I just forgot to mention to her that you might stop by…and that you're ghosts."

"Ah," Joshua nodded. "All right, then. Make it clear that we don't mean any harm."

"I know," Leslie mumbled, even though her head was buried in Sam's shoulder. "You seem like nice ghosts."

"I knew we shouldn't have made such an entrance," Charlotte sighed. She then looked around and smiled at Amelia, who was nearby. "You still make a lovely table, dear."

"Thank you for noticing," Amelia returned. "Not many people do."

"I said it was a nice table!" Selina protested. "You heard me say it!" She turned to Elijah. "Didn't I say it?"

"Yes," Elijah replied tiredly. "You did."

"Can we just have cake now?" Selina asked. "Where the hell is it? Is it getting here by turtle?"

"All right, all right!" Joshua cried. "We came to make toasts for Sam's upcoming wedding, and we're not leaving until we do." He looked at Sam and cleared his throat. "I hope I don't offend you, brother, when I say that the thought of you marrying surprises me. I never thought you would be able to take the time to find a woman to settle down with. But it seems you have, and I hope that you will be as happy with her as I was with my wife Emma. We had many years and four beautiful children together. I wish you the same."

Everyone toasted and then Charlotte took her turn. "Samuel, I admit that I don't know you as well as I would like, but from what I do know, you were blessed with the independent spirit that your parents both possess also." Selina and Damon couldn't resist meeting each other's eyes briefly for a moment and grinning at this remark before turning back to Elijah and Annie. "When you're like that, it's hard to find the right person to match you, and I'm so proud you waited to find that person instead of just settling for the first person who came along. Cause it's worth the wait to find the right person, believe me, I know. Better to wait and find the right person than be filled with regret for your whole life." Charlotte paused and cleared her throat. "Anyway, I hope you're always as happy as you seem today, and that you and the woman you love are blessed with the wonderful life you deserve."

There was another toast and then both ghosts quickly made their exits just as the cake was finally wheeled in.

"Did that really just happen?" Leslie asked. "Did I really see ghosts?"

"Yeah, you did," Sam nodded. "Welcome to my family."

"I guess," Leslie nodded. She then followed Sam over to the cake, they posed with it so people could take pictures (it was five layers with white frosting and roses on top. Selina had really gone all out). Then, Sam got on a chair and cut out a piece from toward the top, got down off the chair, fed some to Leslie, and then, after everyone applauded, they began cutting slices and passing them around to the large crowd at the dining room table.


	67. The Last Happy Days

"I can't _believe_ you didn't come to Sam and Leslie's wedding with me," Selina told Elijah. "I thought that the threat of me and Damon being in the same room would be enough to override your hatred of the bar."

"Did you and Damon do anything that's bad?" Elijah asked, his eyes narrowing. "Were you unfaithful to me?"

"You know, I really thought about it since you ditched me, but…I took the high road. Damon and I had a dance, but that's it," Selina told him.

"And just where were his hands during this dance?" Elijah asked as he pictured Damon groping her in every place he could. "Respectfully placed, I hope."

"Of course," Selina's tone was icy. "But you really should be ashamed of yourself, you know. I've done all sorts of shit to appear presentable to your family and you can't even do this once for me? You…you are so childish!"

"Oh, am I?" Elijah asked.

"Yes!" Selina nodded. "Yes, you are! Just what did you think you would accomplish by deciding not to come to the wedding with me, huh? Was it to teach me some sort of lesson?"

"No, of course not!" Elijah shook his head. "This might come as a shock to you, but not everything I do revolves around you!"

"Ah, so you were being _entirely_ selfish," Selina scoffed. "That's _so_ much better!"

"I don't know what you want from me when it comes to situations like that," Elijah cried. "Usually when I want to be around you when you see Niklaus or Damon, you get mad at me and say I should trust you. Now I give you that chance, and you yell at me. I can't do anything right by you, can I?"

"Don't do that 'oh, poor me, I'm a victim' crap with me, Elijah Mikaelson!" Selina scolded, her big blue eyes blazing. "I realize what a pain in the ass dealing with Klaus or Damon is for you, considering my past with them. But this wasn't about Klaus or Damon. This was about seeing the son I hardly ever see, the son who I basically abandoned because I screwed up when I conceived him and I wanted to be faithful to my husband again, get married. It was just one damn day (well, two, if you count the engagement party) out of our lives where my whole focus would not be on you. And you couldn't even give me that. I admit that you had reason to be suspicious of my interactions with Klaus and Damon at one point, but I would think that you would trust me by now. And if it was just about the bar…get over yourself, would you? If Lucy can go there without flinching, I think you should be able to."

"I can't!" Elijah shook his head. "People spit on the floor there! I saw it once! It's not sanitary!"

"And for hundreds of years, you didn't bathe every day and people peed in buckets and threw it out the window," Selina countered. "And I bet you were fine with that, even though _that_ could be considered unsanitary."

"Cause that's just how things were!" Elijah told her. "We didn't know any better. Now we do. People should know by now to have better manners than to just spit on the floor!"

"You know what, fine," Selina threw her hands up. "I was wrong, and I am going to do restitution."

"Oh?" Elijah asked. "And what will you do?"

"I'm not having sex with anyone for seven months," Selina said. "Not even you, because that's your part of your payback."

"You can't do it," Elijah told her with a grin. "You wouldn't. I bet you're gonna come up with some little loophole for this plan."

"Oh, you _really_ want me to, don't you?" Selina asked, eyes full of challenge. "Don't forget that when I need to, I can be celibate. After your brother Aleksandr left me, I didn't have sex for nearly fifty years! What's the longest you've ever gone, Elijah? As long as that? I bet you couldn't even make it a month. Or seven."

"That's such an arbitrary number!" Elijah cried.

"You can't do it, can you?" Selina asked. "I'm _very_ serious about this. I'll go move all my underwear and stuff into the dresser in the spare bedroom just to show you how serious I am."

She headed in that direction and Elijah followed her, his jaw dropping as he watched her move her things to the spare room. He still thought she was joking, and he waited and waited for her that night with the lights on, but she never came, and he spent the evening sleeping alone.

* * *

"Okay, okay!" He said the next morning. "I can see you're serious. What's the loophole? What's the way out of this?"

"I want you to go apologize to Sam," Selina replied. "And say something nice about his marriage too, like wishing him the best of luck."

"And where would I have to go to do that?" Elijah asked. He knew of two possible places, and neither of them were ones he liked to be.

"I think he's still at the bar in one of the rooms upstairs, honeymooning," Selina replied. "So if you want to have sex again, you have to go to the big, scary bar and talk to my son who has nothing to do with you or your brother whatsoever." She whispered in his ear. "How much is seeing me in my new lacy black underwear worth to you, Elijah?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I hate you for putting me in this position," he said as he grabbed his keys and she followed him to his car. "I _really_ do."

"Well, think of all the positions you'll be in tonight after you do this and that should make you feel better," Selina grinned.

"True," Elijah sighed. "There _is_ that."

"But first you have to apologize to Sam," Selina said. "So let's go. I'm sure you don't want to drag this out."

They got in the car with Elijah in the driver seat and Selina in the passenger seat, but then they just sat in the driveway as Elijah gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white while he tried to will himself to put his foot on the gas pedal.

"All right," Selina sighed and got out. "Move over, I'm driving."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "You aren't driving my car!"

"Well, neither are you at the moment and we have to go to the bar sometime," Selina replied and gave him a push. "Just move it. You'll be glad you did."

Elijah rolled his eyes and moved over a seat. Then Selina started the car and before he knew it, she was parking in the parking lot of Roxie's bar and urging him to come inside with her.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Ronan said as they came in. "If it isn't my daughter-in-law and Mr. 'Look-At-Me-I'm-Too-Good-For-This-Place'."

"She's _not_ your daughter-in-law anymore," Elijah said through his teeth as Selina held him back. "She and Klaus ended things long ago. She's with _me_ now."

"Don't fight with him," Selina reminded her husband. "He was the one that got you turned into a werewolf, remember? If you don't get distracted, we can be in and out of here."

"Where's Sam?" Elijah asked Ronan. "Is he here?"

"What do you want him for?" Ronan asked as he reached under the bar for a glass, his shaggy blond head reminding Elijah of his brother.

"I want to apologize to him about missing his wedding," Elijah replied. "Is he here or not?"

"He's upstairs," Ronan tilted his head toward the staircase that led to the upper floors. "But I don't know if he'll want to talk to you."

"But we're going to see him anyway," Selina said firmly and pulled Elijah toward the stairwell. "Thank you, Ronan."

When they got up to the second floor, they ran into Roxie, who was just coming out of one of the rooms after cleaning it. "You two looking for a place to stay?" She asked. "Cause the room I just cleaned is really nice."

"Actually, Roxanne," Elijah told her, "We aren't intending to stay for very long. I just…I want to talk to Sam. Is he here?"

They followed Roxie to a closed door, which she knocked on. "Sam? You have visitors," she called. "You think you could take a break for a minute and come out here?"

Sam emerged a few seconds later, looking rumpled and wearing green plaid boxers and a white t-shirt. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Sorry if we're interrupting something," Selina apologized. "It's just that Elijah has something to say to you. And I am going to go downstairs and have a Bloody Shirley while he does it."

Elijah opened his mouth as she scampered away. Once again, she was ditching him after making him have an awkward conversations about life with someone. And the fact that Roxanne was watching him with a smirk on her face didn't help his nervousness.

"All right," Sam told him, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. "Whatever Mom told you to say, go ahead and say it. Whether or not I believe it is another matter entirely. And make it quick; I was busy in there."

"It-it's true that your mother suggested that we come down here and I tell you what I'm about to say," Elijah admitted. "But I agree with her that it needed to be done. I'm awfully sorry that I didn't come with her to your wedding. My thought process was that I didn't think you would want me there…and I just didn't want to be in the same space as your father. But the truth is, even though I've never done a particularly good job of showing it, that I've always sort of liked you, Sam."

"Really?" Sam asked. "I believe that and you'll tell me another one. Why would you like me if you hate my father and I'm evidence that your wife cheated on your brother when she was married to him?"

"Well, that wasn't your fault, was it?" Elijah asked. "It's like how my brother Niklaus is evidence that my mother cheated on my father with that bartender downstairs a thousand years ago and yet I grew to love _him_. I'm willing to do the same with you, and I'm very proud of you for deciding to find the right woman and settle down. That is a sign of maturity that I'm very pleased you're capable of."

"Are you saying this because Mom told you to say it?" Sam asked. "Cause that kind of takes away from the sincerity."

"I'll probably never be able to convince you of my sincerity, so the only way you'll believe in it is if you choose to," Elijah replied. "But I really do mean it. Congratulations and I hope…I hope you're very happy in your new life."

Sam looked at Elijah with suspicion, still trying to decide if he was lying or just doing it for his mother's sake, but eventually, he became convinced that he was being honest. So Sam reached out his hand, gripped Elijah's and shook it. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Elijah told him. "I'm really proud of the person you've become. Now I guess you want to get back to Leslie, don't you? I won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you," Sam told him and put his hand on the door handle. "For more than one reason."

Elijah headed downstairs then and Roxie followed after him. "That was a real nice speech you gave there," she told him. "I didn't think you could do it. There must've been something on the line. Did Mom say she was gonna move into that spare bedroom until you apologized?"

"That's between your mother and me, Roxanne," Elijah said. "It's none of your damn business."

"Did he do it?" Selina asked, pausing in drinking her drink and standing up from her bar stool as the two of them approached. "Did he make things up with Sam?"

"That he did," Roxie nodded. "And he did it with surprising genuine sincerity as well."

"Thank you," Selina told him as she took his hand, led him toward the bar door and then shouted a goodbye to Roxie over her shoulder. "Thank you very much, Elijah."

* * *

That night, so she wouldn't have to move all her stuff back, Elijah joined her in the spare bedroom. When he came in, he found her sitting on the bed wearing one of his button-down shirts, unbuttoned to reveal the black lace bra and panty set she wore underneath.

"You like it?" She asked him as she came toward him, tousled his hair, ran her hand over the scruff that was beginning to appear on his cheeks and chin, and then unbuttoned the buttons on his shirt.

"I like it very much," he grinned and grabbed her wrist, moving her hand down to his belt. "But why don't you start down there?"

"Cause I like watching _you_ take off your pants," Selina grinned. "Don't make me do _all_ the work!" She unbuttoned his shirt and hung it on the bedpost along with the one she wore, then got on the bed and watched intently as he unbuckled his pants and removed them along with his boxers before joining her in bed, pushing her back so she was lying underneath him on the mattress, and removing her bra, nibbling on her neck, then planting a trail of kisses down her neck and collarbone before pausing to suck gently on her nipples and kiss, then slowly lick her stomach. Then, warmth spread throughout his body and he felt himself becoming very aroused as she writhed underneath him while slowly peeled off her panties and parted her legs, planting kisses up the warm skin of her inner thighs before pleasuring her with his tongue as she whispered his name over and over again. After she climaxed, he took her in his arms and let her breath for a little while, stroking her hair as they sat with her arms around his neck. Then he lay her back down again, hovering over her so that his dark eyes filled her vision. "Are you ready now?" He whispered. "Do you want me inside of you?"

"Yes, please," Selina nodded, her hips bucking in anticipation as her toes curled under the blankets. "Bury yourself deep."

And he did so, over and over again, while kissing her desperately and holding her close to his heart. No one else would ever touch her this way. It would be him forever, and that was that. He broke away and stared at her briefly, then grinned and hugged her.

"What?" She asked. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Elijah shook his head. "I just realized how lucky I am. That's all. I love you, Selina."

"I love you too, you silly man," Selina replied with a smile. "And don't you dare forget that."

* * *

"Sorry about Percy," Jill said to Christian as they lay in bed. "I really didn't think he would punch you in the face."

"I was prepared for it," Christian sighed. "I knew that some people wouldn't react kindly to me. But I didn't care. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Jill asked, even though she had some idea. "Tell me please."

"I was with my favorite woman in the world, and our baby. With the two people who care about me more than anything at my side, how could I be upset?"

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Jill smiled. "It was so nice of Sam to invite you and make us feel so welcome. The best time I've had in a while, I should say." She put a hand on her belly. "Someone didn't even interrupt the proceedings. She must've had a good time too…"

"She?" Christian repeated. "Did you have a vision? Do you know it's a girl?"

"Yeah," Jill nodded as Christian stroked her stomach. "I've known for a little while now, but I wanted to wait until just the right moment. I hope that doesn't upset you."

"No, it doesn't," Christian shook his head and kissed her hair. "I don't mind at all."

* * *

Although he'd seemed very happy about finding out the sex of their future child, it also put him in a state of paranoia. A few days after the announcement, he came to show her two new purchases he made, and she shrieked at the sight of them.

"Jill, meet Snowball and Snowflake," Christian said proudly as he introduced her to the two wolves he had procured.

Jill looked up for a moment from where she'd buried her face in the pillows on the bed. He had with him the wolves from her vision, the ones who would eventually tear her to pieces. "Those are _wolves_ , Christian! Why the hell do we need _wolves_ here? And why in the world would you name them Snowflake and Snowball?"

"So you wouldn't be scared of them like you are now," Christian told her and then ordered both of them to lie down. "You telling me that we're going to have a girl has made me even more worried about Father than before. We need these animals for protection if he tries to be sneaky and pull something. Can you understand that?"

"Well, I still don't think it's necessary for you to buy _wolves_ when a couple of big dogs would have worked just as well, but I-I suppose since you've already gotten them here, I can learn to adjust to them." She eyed them nervously. "They won't hurt me, right?"

"Of course not," He said, taking her in his arms and kissing her. "They're meant to help you. To protect you. They won't do anything other than that. Especially not anything that will hurt you."

We'll see about that, Jill thought, even as she nodded and kissed him back. We'll see about that.

* * *

"See?" Freya asked as she paused kissing John for a moment. "Isn't it much better to do this on a bed than the desk in your office?"

"It's much more comfortable, that's for sure," John replied pushing her back against the headboard and burying himself inside her as he kissed her again. "I hope you're hungry after this. It's almost dinner time. Wear your blue dress."

"With what we've been doing, I'm surprised you want me to wear anything at all," Freya panted. "I thought you would want us to sprint naked to the kitchen, stuff our faces, then run back here and do more of this."

"That's an idea," John raised an eyebrow as she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "It could be done."

"I was just joking," Freya said. "It was a joke."

"Well as you pointed out, it would save time," John told her.

So even though it was really not dignified, a short while later, they sprinted to the kitchen, ignoring the shocked stares of John's servants as they ate their dinner naked, then sprinted back to the bedroom.

"I don't know about you," John said as he climbed back into bed. "But I think there was a delicious thrill to what we just did. Did you see everyone's faces while we ate? They were absolutely horrified!"

"As they should be!" Freya nodded, her face red. "Let's not do that again. I wouldn't be able to look anyone in this house in the eye."

"And I don't understand why that is," John replied as he lay her back on the mattress and ran his hands over her body. "You're absolutely gorgeous. You should show it off more often."

"Well, of course you think I'm gorgeous," Freya told him, shaking her blonde hair out of her eyes. "You wouldn't have picked me to bear your children if you thought I was ugly."

"True," John nodded. "But there are other things I like about you too…not just your face and your body."

"Really?" Freya scoffed. "You could have fooled me. Just what else is it that you like? I want you to say it out loud."

"I…I like that you're a challenge," he told her. "If you just did whatever I said, what fun would that be? You're just as ambitious as I am. Just as stubborn. You…you understand me. You know what it's like to be on the outside, don't you?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "Yes, I do."

"I need not just a beautiful woman, but…but also a kindred spirit," he said and put a hand on either side of her face. "And you're that kindred spirit, Freya Mikaelson. I know you might not believe it, but…in my own, clumsy and rotten way, I…I need you. I love you. And before you respond, you don't have to say it back. I know you're only with me for the power. I know it's nothing more than that." He sighed and looked away from her.

"Just a minute," Freya said. "Yes, your power is part of that. You would know I was lying if I didn't admit to that. But what you said about us being kindred spirits…that's what I like about you too. There may be a lot of things about you that annoy the hell out of me, but…but I know that there are things that I can talk about only with you because you're the only person who would understand. And I…I like that about you, I suppose."

"Really?" John asked. "We like each other now?" He then smiled and gave her a wink. "This is bad. This could ruin everything!"

Freya chuckled. "Well, maybe if we never say it to each other again, it will be all right. Or at least not very often."

"All right," John nodded. "That sounds like a deal to me."


	68. A Question Of Loyalty

"You know what I think?" Freya asked as John followed her around his house, feeling nervous as she closely surveyed everything and stroked it with her neatly manicured fingernails.

"What?" John replied.

"I think that since I live here more now, I need more of a presence," Freya grinned.

"What the hell does that mean?" John asked.

"It means that if you want me to live with you, you have to let me put stuff here," Freya explained.

"I already gave you half the closet, a whole side of the bed, and a drawer for your underwear," John told her. "What more could you want?"

"You are so thick-headed!" Freya cried. "You want me to live here full time, you have to let me make this place as much mine as it is yours. That's fair, don't you think?"

"And how would you do that?" John asked. "You wouldn't make everything all pink and frilly, would you? Cause that just won't work."

"Use your head, John," Freya huffed. "When you look at me, do the words 'pink and frilly' automatically come to mind? No. I think…for starters, I want a…" She turned around and grinned. "No, I won't tell you. You'll have to be surprised." She held her hand out. "I think I want to start re-decorating now. Give me your credit card."

John sighed. He was paying a heavy price for Freya moving in full time. Hopefully Christian didn't have the same sort of trouble with Jill.

When he wouldn't give her the card, she grabbed him and rooted around in his back pocket, pulling it out and grabbing a few of the cards he held. "There now," she grinned with satisfaction. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Why do you need that many?" John asked. "I think I have the right to know what sort of things you'll be spending my money on!"

"Nothing frivolous," Freya assured him. "What I buy or bring in this house will really benefit both of us, I swear."

John rolled his eyes. "I really doubt that," he said. "I don't think it will stop you, though."

"Right," Freya smiled and flipped her blonde hair. "Just trust me, okay?"

* * *

Her first stop after leaving John's was to go back to Mikael's.

"Have you come back for good?" Mikael asked her when she opened the door.

"Is that the only way you'll let me come in?" Freya asked.

"I just want to know what side of all this you're on," Mikael told her. "His side or mine? You can't just keep going back and forth."

Freya sighed. "You're right. I guess…I guess I've gotten to a point with John where there's really no going back."

"Great," Mikael sighed. "My daughter has betrayed me."

"It…it's not as bad as all that," Freya tried to assure her father. "Things between me and John have shifted and I'm sure that we'll all find some way to happily co-exist at some point."

"That's an optimism I don't think I share," Mikael told her dryly. "Now, if you didn't come back because you're being sensible and staying away from John, what did you come for?"

"You know that picture of you that Gwen said she didn't want hanging up because she found it pretentious?" Freya asked. "Where is it? You didn't get rid of it, did you?"

"No, it's around," Mikael told her. Then his eyes narrowed. "What do _you_ want with it?"

Freya shrugged. "I just think that a reminder of my darling father would be a nice thing to have in my new home."

"Are you using a picture of me as a way to annoy John?" Mikael questioned.

"Yes," Freya nodded. "Does that bother you? Are you offended?"

"No," Mikael shook his head. "If your plan is to annoy that idiot, go ahead and take it. I'm sure Gwendolyn will be glad to have it out of here and not taking up space and gathering dust."

"Thanks," Freya replied and gave him a kiss. They hunted for the picture together, and when they found it, wrapped it up, and then, after they went to John's house to hang it up in a place of Mikael's choosing, Freya was on her way to the mall.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" John asked, sniffing as a subtle, soft fragrance hit his nose. "I…Freya, did you get a new perfume?"

"No, it's a spray that scents rooms," Freya said. "That's lilac. I'm glad you like it. I bought some other scents too. You told me no pink and frilly, but you didn't say anything about not making the house smell good."

John sighed. "I suppose I can accept that," he agreed. "Just don't go overboard with it, all right? I don't want it all over my clothes when I leave the house." He paused. "What other horrors do you have in store for me?"

"Well, I thought I should have a picture of my father hanging up," Freya told him. "And I don't care if it bothers you. It's a big picture, it took lots of effort to bring here, and I'm not taking it back if you don't like it."

"Where did you put it?" John asked, his heart sinking, especially as she led him to their bedroom. "Oh, my god," he told her. "How do you expect me to perform if, when I'm on top, I have to have that picture of your father staring at me? Was it really necessary to put it over the bed?"

"I tried to talk Daddy out of it, but he insisted!" Freya replied. "He wouldn't leave unless I let him hang it right there!"

"You could have very easily hung it somewhere else on your own," John replied irritably. "That's what your magic is for." He tried to zap it away, but it wouldn't budge. "You put some sort of spell on it so I couldn't move it, didn't you?" He asked.

"Exactly," Freya nodded. "This is where I want it and it's my thing, so that's where it stays. But if you think it will affect your performance in bed that much, I can cover it with curtains like a window when you and I want to be together. Is that better?"

"Fine," John sighed. "I guess."

* * *

And that was exactly what she did that night, and things turned out just fine.

"See?" Freya told him as he pushed into her. "I told you that covering up Father's picture would work!"

"Well, you talking about it kind of ruins things too," John told her. "Don't say anything about your father when I'm on top of you. Okay?"

"Fine," Freya agreed. "Sorry."

After they were done, they were a bit riled up, so Freya pulled something out from under the bed and put it on her bedside table.

"What's that?" John asked curiously and leaned across her to get a better look at the thing.

"It's a machine that emits calming noises to help with sleep," Freya answered. "I thought it would be good for us to have."

So while John turned off the lights, Freya turned on the machine, picking calming water for their soothing sound.

"Does that work?" She asked as they lay staring at the ceiling and listening to the water. "Are you getting sleepy?"

"No, but I _am_ getting the urge to use the bathroom," John replied and fidgeted before getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. "Are there any other noises on there?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "I'll pick another one."

"Thank you," John called. "I appreciate it."

When he returned, she had indeed picked another track, this time, sounds of the rainforest. This was much more calming, but just as he was about to drift off, a loud bird noise made his eyes pop open. He then looked incredulously at Freya, who was sleeping soundly, her breathing regular. At least she can sleep through all this, he thought. He considered chucking the machine in the trash, but if he did that, he wouldn't hear the end of it. He just turned it off, climbed back into bed, and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

"You are so sweet to make me French toast," Jill said to Christian as she sat down at the breakfast table. Then she gave a nervous squeak as Snowball and Snowflake came and set themselves down on either side of her chair. "Can you get them to move?" She asked as Christian flipped the toast over. "I doubt anyone will try and attack me while I'm eating. And how in the world did you get the okay to have them here? I know it's not normal to have two wolves living in an apartment."

"It won't be for too much longer," Christian promised. "I plan on finding us a house with a big back yard before the baby is born."

"Well, that's nice," Jill told him and put a hand on her belly. "But you better hurry. We probably don't have much time."

It was then that Jill's cell phone rang.

"Who could that be?" Christian asked, frowning.

Jill saw that it was Malachai's number and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing bad. And it's not _your_ father. That's a good thing."

"So it's yours!" Christian cried. "I bet he's wanting to convince you to leave. Please don't answer it."

Jill let it ring a few more times, and then turned it off. "You're right," she said and kissed him. "That's probably what it's about. And I don't need that."

"Well, I should hope not," Christian replied as he took her on his lap and stroked her arm before placing a hand on her stomach. "I love you Jill, and I would be very lonely and hurt if you left."

Jill kissed him. "Well, you don't have to worry about that, I promise." Thus assured, Christian went to get Jill her French toast and they settled down to have a peaceful and quiet breakfast.

* * *

But Malachai wasn't done with them yet. "Is that him again?" Jill asked when Christian paused giving her a massage to see who was calling when her phone rang.

"Yes," Christian sighed. "It's him."

"Here," Jill told him. "Give it to me." He did and she answered it. "Hello, Malachai. What do you want?"

"In light of your condition and its consequences, I really think it's time for all of my children, including you, to come and talk about what we're going to do," Malachai replied. "Unless of course you no longer care and have turned on us."

"I haven't," Jill assured him. "I'll come visit you tonight, okay, I _swear._ "

"Do you promise?" Malachai asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Jill replied. "See you later. And you don't need to keep calling and asking. If you call again, I'll just ignore it." She then ended the call and put her phone down.

"Is everything all right?" Christian asked as he began to massage her neck.

"Oh, yes," Jill nodded. "That…that's very good. Could you go down a bit to my shoulders?"

"Sure," Christian nodded and did just that.

"Malachai just misses me," she explained. "So I'm gonna visit him tonight and stuff. That way, he'll stop calling and leave us alone."

"And don't let him talk you into staying forever," Christian reminded her.

"I won't," Jill replied, tilting her head back to give him a kiss. "You should know that by now."

After he did her neck and shoulders, they retreated to the bedroom so she could undress and he could give her a full body massage with lotion scented with rose and sandalwood that apparently had the power to soothe and calm.

"I'll be careful with your belly, I swear," he promised. "How's our little girl doing today?"

"Well, she really seems to want out," Jill replied. "And honestly, I don't blame her."

"I can see what you mean," Christian agreed as he gently rubbed the lotion on her belly and felt a slight kick with every move of his hand. "She really wants us to know that she's here."

After he got done with the lotion and went to wash off his hands, he undressed and came back to her. "You wanna have a little fun?" He asked. "Or would you rather just nap after all that?"

Jill sat up the best she could and chuckled. "Well, since we're both already naked anyway, we might as well take time to have a little fun. Don't want to waste it, right?"

"No," Christian shook his head and kissed her. "Definitely not."

So they played around for a bit with Christian pleasuring Jill more than getting pleasure for himself, and when his pleasuring her had made her climax, he pulled away, pulled the blanket over her, zapped his clothes back on and let her nap.

"Sleep tight," he told her.

"Thank you," she replied and shut her eyes. "I will, I promise."

* * *

"What can I do for you?" Sam asked as Christian opened the door for him that night and ushered him into the apartment. Then Sam saw the new pets. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "Are those _wolves_? Cool!"

"I got them to protect Jill and the baby if my father tries to pull anything that would hurt them," Christian explained. Then he scoffed. "Actually, I really shouldn't be saying _if_ , should I? Because I know he will. The question is, when?"

"So you called me over here to talk about your father?" Sam asked as he sat down. Cause I don't know how much help I can be with that. I don't even know him."

"No, it has nothing to do with my father," Christian shook his head. "It has to do with Jill's, actually. He's called every few hours since this morning, wanting Jill to do something she won't tell me about. She held him off most of the day, but she finally left about half an hour ago to see him. I asked her what she needed to see him for and she wouldn't tell me. Should I be worried? Do you think she's gonna do something that will ruin things for us? I need your advice."

"Will the answer I give you matter?" Sam asked. "Why don't you go and see for yourself? Can't you make yourself invisible and spy or something?"

"I don't know if I should do that," Christian told him. "It seems distrustful somehow. Jill and I are working very hard to have a good relationship and I don't want to ruin it."

"Well, it might be the only way to relieve your worries," Sam pointed out. "I think it will be better for you to go and check on things so you can see that you have nothing to worry about at all."

"You're right," Christian nodded. "I'll do that." He paused. "Are you okay with being here alone? Cause I can lock the wolves in bedroom if they make you nervous."

"No," Sam replied as one of them came, sniffed at him, then rubbed against his leg. "He must like me. Maybe it's the werewolf gene." He shrugged. "Good luck," he told his friend. "I hope everything works out for you."

"Yeah," Christian nodded before he disappeared. "Me too."


	69. Going After The Innocent

_From the Last Girl…_

While he waited for Jill to return home, Christian did a little redecorating, adding a room to their apartment that would hold Jill until he was sure about what could be done about her. It was a simple room, cold and dark with nothing on the walls but the restraints that would keep her where she was supposed to be. Just as he finished making it up, he heard her voice.

"Christian, I'm home! Where are you?"

And that voice…that sweet, lovely, wonderful voice gave him pause. Surely he was wrong about her. Surely he was letting John's fucked up way of thinking mess with his mind. Then he shook the feelings off. John had said that he needed to do whatever he could to make sure Jill wouldn't betray him. And he was right. Better safe than sorry. He shrugged. And besides, it's not like Jill didn't know this was coming. She was expecting it. And it would be wrong not to make her prediction come true.

He got upstairs and when Jill saw him, she smiled and tried to embrace him, but he stepped out of the way without smiling.

"What's the matter?" Jill asked. Are you okay?" Then she looked out the window. The skies darkened. Thunder cracked overhead and rain began to fall. Snowball and Snowflake, usually so well-behaved, began growling. It was probably because they were frightened by the noise, but Jill's heart began to race nonetheless.

Christian expected her to run, but she just locked her eyes on him, crossed her arms, and said in a subdued voice, "It's that time, isn't it? The day we've dreaded has finally come at last."

"Yes," Christian nodded. "It has. It's good that you're taking it so well. It makes things a lot easier for both of us."

"You can still stop this, you know," Jill told him. "Just because some dumb vision says we have to fight doesn't mean we actually do. You can stop it. You can show you're better than that."

"You know I would love to," Christian told her. "I'd want that more than anything. But I…I sneaked over to Malachai's house tonight while he was having that little meeting with you and your siblings. I heard that he wants to kill my father and me. I heard him say that if you don't choose to kill us, he'll kill you."

"You did?" Jill asked. "Oh, my god!" She sat down on the sofa, her eyes on her lap.

"Don't get me wrong," he said as he put his hand under her chin and brought her face up to look at him. "I don't blame you for choosing your life and the life of our child over my father and me. It's a logical choice to make. I would in your place. And this was always the plan, wasn't it? You knew from the beginning that I was a bad guy, and you wanted to teach me a lesson. You wanted me to care for you and love you and feel like I belonged so that when you finally turned around, stabbed me in the back, and did what your father wanted you to, it would hurt me all the more. Is that right?"

"No!" Jill shook her head. "I know what that seems like, but it's not true! I love you, Christian! I do!"

"Oh, shut up!" Christian growled, trying not to cry. "I don't believe anything you say since you've been lying to me all along!"

"Fine!" Jill told him. "What are you going to do now that this idea has settled into your brain? Kill me?"

"Of course not!" Christian shook his head. "Not while you're carrying my child. I won't punish her for your mistakes. It wouldn't be right. So…I have a nice little room prepared for you."

"A room?" Jill asked, not fooled at all. "Don't you mean a dungeon?"

"You can think of it however you want," Christian said coldly as he pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the cold, dark room. Then he ordered her to sit on the ground and he restrained her. "There," he said, smirking with satisfaction. "That looks about right."

"So you're just going to leave me alone in here?" Jill asked.

"Oh, no," Christian put a hand on her face. "You'll see me again, I promise. I won't be taking my eyes off of you for a second." He then stood up and turned around, striding out of the room and locking the door behind him, a move which stopped him from hearing Jill's outraged yells, which would probably get louder when she realized there were spells on the chains and the door which made it impossible for her to get out without his help.

He shut his eyes and took several deep breaths. He thought about going back and letting her out. He turned around, walked back to the cell, put his hand on the knob, squeezed it tightly as he listened to her broken voice, and then shook his head. He couldn't do it. He knew what was at stake, and he was just too selfish to let her out since he knew what it would mean for him if he did. Maybe not right away. But in the long run, Malachai would get to her, and she would hurt him. He couldn't let that happen. He stepped away from the door and went to see the other people who might be able to offer him comfort, whether it worked or not.

* * *

"Christian?" Freya asked when he knocked on the door to his parents' house and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't John who answered. "Hi! Come in! What's the matter? Are you okay?" She noticed her son's troubled look and invited him to sit down, putting her arms around him. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Is dad here?" Christian asked. "Cause if it's just you, then I think I can talk. But if not, I can't say a thing."

"No, it's just me," Freya told him. "So go on. Has something happened?"

"No, but…it might," Christian confessed. "I think…I think Jill might be thinking about betraying me. Dad says to deal with that in the harshest way possible and I sort of…I sort of see what he means. But at the same time…now that I have her locked up…that seems wrong. Should I let her go, apologize, and trust her?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "I really think you should if you don't want to lose the only good thing in your life. Your father will have a different opinion. Don't ask him. Not again."

"You're right," Christian nodded. "I don't know why I listen to Dad in the first place. It always gets me in trouble."

"Yeah, it does," Freya nodded. "In a way I suppose I can't blame you for being nervous since we know for a fact that Jill's own father wouldn't hesitate to kill you if he had a chance. But you shouldn't blame Jill for that. You shouldn't think of her that way. Go and apologize. It'll be the best thing."

"Do you think she'll forgive me if I do?" Christian asked.

"I don't know," Freya shrugged. "I hope so, but you never know. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make things up to her anyway."

"All right," Christian nodded. "I'll go home and I'll do my best. Thank you, Mother."

"You're welcome," Freya smiled and took his hand. "Good luck, son. "I hope things work out for you. I really do." She watched him go and sighed to herself, wondering if it really would work out for him, or if John's fear-mongering would take over in the end and ruin any chance Christian had at happiness. She hoped not. Cause he deserved better than that. And so did Jill.

* * *

"Have you come to let me go?" Jill asked hopefully when Christian came to visit her that night. "Whatever made you do this to me…it's nothing that's true. And remember what we said should be done if you have some worry about our relationship? Don't let your anger rule you. Talk to me. You can do that. I love you."

"Yeah, I know," Christian replied, getting down on his knees to take the restraints off her wrists for a moment so she could put her arms around him while he kissed her. When the kiss ended and they pulled away, he had tears in his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Jill asked.

"No," Christian shook his head. "I know what Malachai wants from you and…and it's right for you to save yourself and the baby. I understand that. But I…I have to fight back, you know? I have to keep myself alive too."

Jill frowned. "You're not making any sense. You say that it's right for me to keep myself and the baby alive, but you also want to try and kill us? What are you going on about? What has your father put in your head?"

"You can't blame my father for this," Christian told her. "This time, it's all me. I wish it didn't have to be…but I can't see any other way to deal with it unless you can convince Malachai to leave me alone." He paused and looked at her hopefully. "Can you?"

"No," Jill shook her head, sobbing too. "I don't think so. But if you have to treat me this way, at least make sure that no harm comes to our baby, all right?"

"Of course," Christian assured her. "None of this is her fault."

"How about I make you a deal?" Jill asked after several moments of silence. "Will you let me make a deal with you?"

"Okay," Christian nodded, grateful for what might be a way out of all this. "What's the deal?"

"If Malachai hurts you," she told him. "If he hurts you or threatens to hurt you, then you can take it out on me. But until that happens, please leave me alone. Please? Can you do that? Let me out of here, if not for me than for our baby."

"Here is what I'll do," Christian told her. "I'll still keep you here. But you won't be restrained, and like you say, I won't…I won't hurt you unless Malachai hurts me first or you're stupid enough to betray me."

"All right," Jill nodded, her eyes still on him. "That seems fair."

He looked at her for a long moment after undoing her restraints. She seemed downright saintly as she resigned herself to the fate she'd been waiting for. "Why are you just sitting there like that?" He asked at last. "Why don't you fight back or try to escape or something? That's what sane people would do. Are you crazy?"

"Does seeing me resign myself to the fate you've selected for me make you feel bad about it and like it shouldn't be this way at all?" Jill asked.

"Yeah," Christian nodded, not looking at her. "Maybe a little. I feel…I feel like I'm hurting someone innocent for no reason and being an absolute moron, and it…it sucks. So can you try to escape so I don't have to feel that way?"

"No," Jill told him firmly. "I know it's crazy and stupid but I do what I do so that you can still be aware that you have a heart and a conscience. So that I know that even though your father might have some hold on you that makes you do horrible things, there's still a part of you that's affected by what I do underneath all that anger and paranoia. That's what gives me hope: that as we go through all this, that part of you that responds to me will fight what your father is telling you and we'll be able to find our way back to each other in the end."

"You really think that will happen?" Christian asked hopefully as Jill put a hand on his face.

"Yes, I do," she nodded. "I would hope so." She paused. "May I have some food, please? I'm hungry."

"All right," he nodded, taking her in his arms and giving her a long kiss. "I'll go get you something to eat. And some blankets and a pillow too. It's a bit chilly in here."

"You think?" Jill retorted.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said in a hushed voice before leaving and closing the cell door behind him once more.

* * *

"Christian," Sam said as Christian stumbled into the bar, sat down on the stool, and asked for a drink. "Are you okay? You don't look well at all."

"I'm not," Christian shook his head. "I-I'm having problems with Jill and they made me have to make some choices that I'm even beginning to regret by now." He paused. "Have you ever just screwed up with someone so bad that you don't think you'll ever forgive yourself for it?"

"Oh, seriously?" Sam asked. "You really think that what you did was that bad? Just go home and let her go and tell her you're sorry." He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and then reached for a glass and Christian said, "Don't bother, just give me the bottle."

Sam handed him the bottle. He downed half of it in one go and then said, "When Jill stops me from seeing our baby, and she will, would you make sure I can see her? Please? You're my only hope."

"Of course," Sam replied. "If it's really not possible to just let her go and you _do_ end up screwing things up so bad that Jill keeps your baby away from you, I'll be sure to find some way to allow you to see her."

"Thank you," Christian told him.

"You're welcome," Sam replied. "The guy who turned my grandfather into a vampire did the same thing for him. Grandpa left to fight in a war when Mom was a baby, and then he was turned but Grandma was told of his death before he was safe to be around, so it wasn't like he could just go home and have thigs be like they were before. Then Doctor Stensrund volunteered to go work in Mom's home town and he and his daughter would watch Mom when Grandma Amelia would go out and Grandpa would see her then."

"And did that work out well for them?" Christian asked. "Was it a happy arrangement?"

"It worked out well enough," Sam nodded. "Just a tip, though: we are _not_ gonna compel your daughter to forget she ever met you to spare Jill's feelings. That's what they did with Mom and it just…it crushed her cause she didn't know that her father cared, and I'm sure you don't want to put Sophia through that."

"Well, no," Christian shook his head earnestly. "After all I've done and am presumably going to do to Jill, I don't want Sophia to suffer too."

"Good," Sam told him firmly as Christian shook his head and pushed the whiskey bottle back toward him.

"Here, take that," he said. "I don't want any more."

"All right," Sam nodded, his blue eyes locked on his friend as Christian put some money down. "And remember, if you ever need to talk, you know where I am."

"Yeah," Christian nodded, his eyes going red for a moment as he tried to stop himself from tearing up. "I do. Thanks. Thank you very much."


	70. To Die and Live Again

**Just a warning: Pregnant Jill is killed in this chapter, so if that's a problem for you, you might want to skip it**

"Here," Christian said as he came into Jill's cell and brought her milk and some cookies. "I-I thought you might be hungry."

"Thank you," Jill said, her tone subdued while she avoided meeting his eyes.

When he sat down next to her and reached out to brush some hair off her face, she gasped and flinched.

"I'm just moving some of your hair," Christian told her. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Not yet you're not," Jill told him, finally bringing her gaze up to meet his. "But some day you will. And it will be awful for both of us." She paused and put a hand on her belly. "Or should I say all three of us. Unless you try and change that. Talk to John. Try and make him see reason. Since I'm trapped here, you're the only one who can do that. You know?"

"Yeah," Christian replied. "I do. You stay here. I'm gonna go talk to my father."

"Good luck!" Jill called after him before biting into a ginger snap. "And thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Christian told her. "I really should be doing this anyway, shouldn't I?"

"I should hope so," she said. "Now run along before you lose your nerve."

"I will," Christian nodded. "And I'll be back soon, I promise."

As he left the house, he didn't notice Malachai, Percy, and a couple of the other boys watching his car from across the street. They watched him drive away, soon following in their own car, which was made up to look like something a policeman would drive.

"Do you really think we should be doing this?" William asked from his seat behind Percy. "Could it be that by doing what we are, we're just making things worse?"

"Hey, you promised you wouldn't say anything like that!" Percy reminded him. "That was the reason we let you come. And of course we should be doing it. We have to save Jill from that monster!"

William opened his mouth to reply, but Malachai quickly cut him off. "Okay, let's not fight anymore," he said. "We have to focus on the job at hand, remember?"

The boys muttered to themselves and lapsed into silence as Malachai drove to catch up to Christian. Then, when they were close to him, Percy turned the siren on and Christian pulled over, looking extremely irritated as Malachai approached. He started to ask what was wrong, but by the time he realized who had stopped him, it was too late for him to pull away. Malachai wrenched the car door open, pulled him down hard onto the pavement, and then, while he pinned him down, the boys and Malachai, with the exception of William all banded together, using their combined magic to hit him with a spell that made it impossible for him to move while they pummeled him mercilessly. Then, when they were done, they removed the spell and took him back to his car.

"Go home," Percy told him. "And if you hurt Jill and we find out about it, we'll kill you."

"He didn't mean that," William said quickly. "But yeah, please don't hurt our sister. Please."

"I won't," Christian said with a wince as he realized he would have to drive one handed. "No harm will come to her if I can help it."

They then drove off in his awkward way, and as they watched him go, Malachai remarked, "How he can still do that after what we put him through, I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Percy was glaring at William. "How could you side with him?" he raged. "Don't you remember he's a bad guy? He has Jill! Don't you care? If you did, you would have hurt her like Todd. Patrick, and I did. Or can you not hurt anyone anymore?"

"Oh, I can," William nodded and set fire to Percy's shirt which caused him to run around screaming in pain and terror. "See?"

After Malachai helped Percy put the fire out, they all went home, vowing not to speak a word of what they'd done to Helene or anyone else, because that would open a can of worms that they just didn't want to deal with.

* * *

Christian decided to go to John and Freya's house house, and in no time, John saw how covered in blood his son was, and how he seemed to be nursing a broken arm.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked.

Christian winced and then sat down in a chair by John's desk. "I came to ask you to leave Jill alone," he said. "Let us live our lives! She's not going to do anything to hurt me. She said so." He paused. "But that Malachai on the other hand…he and some of his buddies jumped me on the way over here and I don't know what sort of magic they did to me, but it made it damn hard to fight back."

"And after telling me this, you expect me to just let Jill be free?" John asked. "Of course I can't. Not when doing something to her would send such a powerful message to that dimwit of a father of hers. Hurt Jill for Malachai's stupidity. It's the only way he'll learn."

"But what about our child?" Christian questioned. "If I hurt Jill, then the baby might die and I'm sure you don't want that."

"That's why I said _hurt_ her, not kill her," John clarified. "Go and do it now. Don't waste any more time."

"I am _not_ gonna hurt the mother of my child," Christian said firmly. "Her father hurt me, but she shouldn't have to pay for his mistakes."

John gave him a long, sad look and put a hand on his forehead. "I'm sorry I have to do this," he apologized as he put a spell on Christian that took away any positive feeling he might have had toward Jill, at least until Christian did what he was supposed to. "It would have been much easier the other way, but however it gets done…" He then fixed Christian's arm and cleaned him up before ordering him to go home to Jill, making sure Malachai would get a message that he wouldn't soon forget.

As he was walking out the door, he ran into his mother and didn't even say 'Hello' when she greeted him. He was on a mission and couldn't be distracted.

"What's up with Christian?" Freya asked John. "I just said 'Hello' to him when he was on his way out and he didn't even see me or acknowledge it." She paused, her eyes narrowed. "Did you do something to him? What was it?"

"Why do you assume I did something to him?" John asked. "Why are you so paranoid all the time, Freya dear?"

"It's not paranoia if you know it's true!" Freya spat. "He probably came over here to talk to you civilly and you messed him up. What did he want to say? Something about not putting up with your shit anymore? That he just wants to be happy and that's not good enough for you?"

"Malachai and his sons beat Christian up on the way over here!" John cried. "When he first showed up in my office, he had blood all over him and a broken arm. And did you not notice his black eye and wonder just where the hell that came from?" John wanted to know. "I think that should have been obvious."

"I guess that did seem a bit strange," Freya conceded. "And what did you do to Christian to avenge this horrible slight?"

"I don't think I should tell you," John replied. "Not if you want things to stay pleasant between us."

"Tell me now," Freya demanded. "Do it, or I'm going back to my father's again."

"Fine, go," John shrugged. "That's probably where you'll be once I tell you that I fixed things so that Christian would attack Jill. That'll be quite a message for Malachai, won't it?"

"You bastard!" Freya shouted and slapped him so hard that she heard his neck break. But as he had been given vampire powers when he'd been forced to be his sister Ena's guinea pig as she'd worked on creating the species, it didn't kill him, but just snapped back into place soon after.

"See?" John said calmly. "I knew you were going to do that."

"And do you understand why?" Freya snapped. "Do you realize how cruel and fucked up it is that you're making your son hurt his pregnant wife just because you want to one-up Malachai? Or is it that you want him to be miserable because you are? Is that what all this is about?"

"Happiness cannot factor into this," John told her. "Christian has a job to do and letting emotion get in the way of that will ruin everything. I did what I had to do."

Freya narrowed her eyes. "If we have any more children, and that is a damn big 'if' at this point, you're not gonna treat them like you treat Christian. No other child of yours that I bear will just be tossed into this mess of yours. If, when they get old enough to make an informed decision, they want to after hearing the pros and cons, I won't get in the way. But I won't see another one of my children's lives ruined because of your boundless ambition. Do you get that? Whether that child would be a boy or a girl, you won't use them this way."

"Yes, I understand," John told her. "But like you say, the probability of us having another child given our present feelings for each other and the fact that there will most likely always be some sort of enmity between us, future family planning is pretty much pointless, isn't it?"

Freya grabbed his arm and looked him in the eye. "Honestly, I hoped it wouldn't be, but yeah. Now it is. For sure."

* * *

"Did you talk to John?" Jill asked eagerly when she saw Christian at the door of her cell, Snowflake and Snowball on either side of him. "Is he going to leave us alone? Come tell me what happened!" But then she saw the cold look on his face and it made her step back a little. "Christian? Christian, are you all right?"

But he didn't seem to hear her as he got closer and closer to her. She turned and ran "Here it comes," she whispered to herself as he pinned her against the wall of the cell and put his hands around her throat. She thought of just letting it happen for a split second, but then she remembered that she had a baby to think about, and it was one thing to just surrender to fate and let _herself_ die, but condemning her child to the same thing when it was innocent…no. She couldn't do that. It wasn't what a mother did. Taking a deep breath, she lifted up her hands, a spell forming in her mind, but before she could even speak a word, Christian was thrown against the opposite cell wall, seemingly by nothing. As she wondered what happened, she looked down at her belly. It was the baby, she realized. Not that the baby had powers yet, but magical pregnancies always led to mothers having more power available, especially if their child was in danger.

Christian then rushed her again and they tussled for a bit with Jill getting several good licks in as Snowflake and Snowball growled, snapped and bit her before Christian finally knocked her to the floor, holding a knife aloft as Jill stared up at him. He seemed to be in a zombie state and no matter how she pleaded, nothing would rouse him. At least she thought. As he brought the knife down, though, there seemed to be a few seconds of clarity. Then he looked into her eyes and whispered "Forgive me," before he slit her throat.

It was just before she finished bleeding out that Christian came back to himself, looked down at his blood-spattered clothes and Jill's body and let out a shriek like a wounded animal.

"No!" He cried, grabbing her and getting even more blood on his clothes. "No!" He put a hand on her chest, feeling her heart slow. In a desperate attempt to save her, he pulled out his own heart and split it in half before removing her dying one and replacing it with his. "Please don't be dead," he begged as tears fell down his cheeks. "Please!"

He gave her some blood too and held onto her until, to his relief, he heard a steady beat, followed by something that filled him with even _more_ relief: a strong kick from her belly. He'd made it just in time. He'd saved his child.

Jill then came to for a split second before he put a spell on her to make her sleep and carried her home to her father, kissing her forehead, a 'goodbye' on his lips as he set her down, and then rang the doorbell, knowing that even if he did see her again, it would be a long time coming, because even though this wasn't the sort of vengeance John had wanted, once Malachai heard what happened to Jill, the reaction would still be the same.

* * *

As Selina and Elijah finished frosting the last of a batch of cupcakes they'd chosen to make together that evening, Klaus strolled in the kitchen. Him coming at odd times was a common occurrence and it didn't faze them a bit.

"Cupcake?" Selina asked as she held one out to him.

Klaus chuckled as he caught Elijah's eye and said to her, "Love, you really shouldn't be calling me pet names in front of your husband."

Selina looked down at the cupcake she held, then, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, said, "I didn't mean _you_ were the cupcake. I meant this one!" She then smushed the cupcake into Klaus' face and Elijah burst into laughter as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him from behind.

"Good one," he whispered in her ear as he watched his brother clean frosting off his face. "Especially since my brother doesn't seem to understand the concept of knocking before he enters a house, especially at this time of night."

"I thought you would like it," Selina told him, a smile on her lips. They laughed a bit longer at Klaus' expense, then Selina cleared her throat and said, "You need any blood along with the cupcake, Klaus?"

"Oh, no, thank you," Klaus told her. "Amy and I went hunting today. She's really getting very skilled. She hones in on someone and when they run, she just zips after them and then goes on the attack. It's amazing to watch, actually." He smiled at Selina. "She'll probably never be as skilled hunter as you, but she's working on it."

"Yeah," Selina nodded, suddenly longing for a good hunt. What she did with Anna was fine, but it was…contained. Not like lucky Amy got to do. "I bet she is."

The more she thought about hunting and how lucky Amy was to get to do it, the more her animal instinct kicked in, and soon she felt herself staring at Klaus, who just _radiated_ animal bloodlust and savagery, even when he wasn't in animal form. She opened her mouth to ask if he would take her hunting as a growl escaped her throat, but then made Klaus and Elijah jump slightly as she gave herself a sharp slap. "No," she whispered firmly. "No."

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked, coming close to her and reaching out to embrace her. "Do you…do you need help?"

"No, thank you," Selina shook her head. "Excuse me. I think I just…I think I should spend some time by myself. Nice to see you, Klaus."

She strode off and Klaus remarked, "Was it something I said?"

Elijah sighed. "I think all that talk about hunting upset her," he said. "She doesn't do it as much as she likes. Or the _way_ she likes, anyway."

"Are you going to go talk to her?" Klaus wanted to know. "Or should I?"

"No, I will, thank you," Elijah told him. "You just stay here and find something to do with yourself in the meantime."

When he entered his and Selina's bedroom, she was on their bed, her arms wrapped around her knees as she rocked back and forth. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "If you'd like to go hunting, all you have to do is say so and we'll go."

Selina looked at him in shock and then said, "Thank you, but…I know you don't like it unless the moon is out, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Elijah sighed, sat down next to her, and put his arms around her. "It's true that hunting to get blood isn't what I prefer, but I would be heartless if I didn't compromise with you on the werewolf situation. Because one can hardly listen to the stories of your family's werewolf repression in your childhood and the effect it had on them (especially your mother) and not be moved by it. I don't want you to be miserable like your mother, so since you're making an effort to accommodate my needs, I…I'm willing to compromise with you."

"I wouldn't even need to kill anything," Selina said as she hopped off the bed, a small smile on her face now. "I just…even running around outside, chasing things…that would be enough, you know? Thank you!"

Elijah waited as she went to the bathroom and when a wolf with startling blue eyes that was covered in several shades of dark brown fur emerged, he got up and after he gave her a pat, they walked companionably to the kitchen.

When she saw Klaus, Elijah waited for the jealousy to hit, but it didn't. While she sniffed his hand and let him pet her briefly, she was soon back where she belonged, nudging him and nuzzling his hip with her nose.

"Well, she seems much better," Klaus remarked. "Are you two going out?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "She said it would do her some good to walk around for a bit, so that's what we'll do. Are you going back to Amy?"

"I think I might," Klaus nodded. "You think Selina would mind if I took some of these cupcakes with me?"

"You can take a couple," Elijah nodded. "But leave some for Drew and Clarissa. If they know we made them while they were out and they didn't get any, I think they would get sore."

* * *

Soon after that, Selina and Elijah were running around outside, and Elijah had to admit, he felt very light and free. They were alone mostly until a young woman came running after a man she claimed had stolen her purse.

Before Elijah even had time to say anything, Selina had pounced on the man, pinning and biting, and giving the woman just enough time to take back what was hers. "Should I worry that she'll attack me too?" She asked. "You don't see wolves roaming around freely every day."

"No, you shouldn't have anything to fear," Elijah replied as Selina hopped off the wounded man, her snout bloody. Once the woman was away from the park and 911 was called, Selina and Elijah headed home, where Selina immediately ran a bath.

"Did you see that?" she smiled. "I totally got a bad guy, didn't I? Is that why you didn't try and stop me?"

"Well, yes," Elijah admitted. "Not that I'm going to let you get away with that sort of thing all the time. But you didn't mortally wound him and he was in the process of committing a crime, so I suppose I can let it go just this once."

"Thanks," Selina smiled. "And…thanks for taking me out to run around tonight. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied and then began to undress himself. "You mind if I join you?"

"Please do," Selina nodded and moved over, giving him space in their large tub. "You know you never have to ask. You can just hop right in. You know I won't mind."


	71. Breaking Up Is Really Hard To Do

"Jill! Jill, sweetie, are you all right?"

"No, Christian, no," Jill muttered at first as she came out of sleep. "Stay away."

But when she opened her eyes, she found Helene watching her with a concerned look in her dark eyes and no Christian in sight.

"Oh, hello," she said and looked around. "I-I wasn't expecting to see you. I'm glad I am, though." She paused. "How did I get here?"

"Malachai found you on the front steps yesterday," Helene explained. "We brought you in and you've been asleep since then, so I thought it was about time I checked on you."

"Well, thank you," Jill said. "That's very nice."

"Are you hungry?" Helene asked. "I'll get you some food and then we can talk about why you think you're here."

When Jill had toast and eggs in a plate in her lap, Helene sat down on the bed next to her and said, "Okay. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Christian murdering me," Jill said bluntly and took a bite of egg. "He had a knife and just slit my throat."

"But why would he do that?" Helene wanted to know. "I thought he cared about you. And you're pregnant for god's sake!"

"I know!" Jill nodded. "It was kind of strange. I knew that he was going to kill me at some point, but…something seemed off. He went to tell his father to lay off us and when he came back, it was like he was a zombie. He had no will of his own. No matter how much I pleaded, he just had this single-minded goal to want me dead or hurt." She paused. "You don't think John did something to him, do you?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Helene replied dryly. "Especially since I just remembered that Malachai went out with your brothers to run some errand, and they were very cagey about specifics. And when I finally got the truth out of him, he admitted they'd gone out to beat Christian up."

"They did _what_?" Jill asked, her jaw dropping. "Are they idiots or what? No wonder John made Christian kill me. He probably thought it would be the best payback he could possibly do for that."

"If you're angry at Malachai, I could take you back to Christian's, if you wanted," Helene offered.

"Well, if I had to pick between the house of the guy who murdered me and the house of the guy who did sneaky stuff to inspire the guy to murder me, I think I'll stay here," Jill said. "I bet it was Christian who brought me here and if he'd wanted me to stay at the apartment, I would be at the apartment."

"Huh," Helene nodded. "That's pretty considerate for a guy who just murdered you."

"I have a feeling it's not as simple as that," Jill said. "And even though I am very upset with him, I need to call him and ask what the hell happened cause I won't get any answers otherwise."

"All right," Helene nodded. "Just…please make sure you finish your food first."

"I will," Jill assured her as she left the room to give her some privacy. After she finished eating, she took a deep breath and called Christian, who answered immediately, as if he'd been sitting right by the phone and waiting for her call.

"Jill, oh, my god! I'm so glad you called! Are you all right? Did your parents take care of you after I dropped you off?"

"They did," she assured him. "I've had some food and a good night's rest and now I want answers. What the hell happened yesterday?"

"I killed you," Christian replied.

"I know that, but why?" Jill asked again. "Did you just decide to do it on your own?"

"What sense would that make?" Christian defended himself. "John tried to ask me to make an example of you for Malachai after he and your brothers attacked me, but when I told him I wouldn't do it on my own, he put a spell on me so that I'd do it anyway, and then come back to myself when it was finished. I swear that's what happened."

"I really want to believe you," Jill told him. "But that still doesn't make me any less pissed off. For god's sake, Christian! The baby could have died!"

"I know," Christian told her. "That's why I was so glad I brought you back in time."

"Oh, and speaking of that, how did you do it?" Jill wanted to know. "Cause as far as I know, I'm not a vampire, so if you cut my throat, I die. I don't come back from it."

There was a silence that lasted long enough that Jill thought Christian had hung up before he finally said, "When I came back to myself and saw you were dying, I…I gave you half my heart and that brought you back."

"You gave me half your heart?" Jill asked. "So what do I have, a heart and a half now?"

"No, you just have what I gave you," Christian replied. "I got rid of the other one because it was basically useless. The half I gave you should probably be a full heart by now."

"Oh, you're so magical that your organs can regenerate?" Jill questioned. "That's something I've never heard before. Did you know that before you did it to me, or were you just lucky as hell?"

"I was just lucky," Christian told her. "Now, I don't expect you to come back to the apartment after everything that's happened. That's why I dropped you off with your parents."

"Well, I should hope you wouldn't expect me to come back," Jill replied. "At least not right away, anyway. I have to have time to heal from being horribly murdered by someone I trust. Or trusted."

"And also if you came back, Father might continue to use you as a target and I don't want that," Christian said. "I never did."

"Well, thank you," Jill said. "Thank you for admitting that, at least."

"I hope your father won't be harsh to you because you're pregnant," Christian told her. "If he or any of your brothers try and give you grief, just tell me and I'll-"

"Thank you, but no," Jill cut him off. "There's already been enough trouble and I don't want to cause more. I'm sure Malachai is going to treat me fine. Helene wouldn't have it any other way."

"Good," Christian told her. "I would hope not." He paused, "Are you…are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah," Jill replied. "The baby and I are fine, thanks." She paused. "Anything else that you need to tell me about yesterday?"

"No," Christian shook his head. "I think I've pretty much covered it all. And since this is probably the last time I'll hear from you for years and years, can I just say that I'm gonna miss hearing your voice?"

"Is that an attempt to butter me up and make me back down from my position?" Jill asked suspiciously. "Cause no matter what you say or how nice you say it, I'm not changing my mind."

"No, I'm not trying make you change your mind about anything!" Christian cried, sounding genuinely indignant. "I'm just saying that I'm gonna miss the sound of your voice. Since when is that a crime?"

"All right, I'm sorry," Jill apologized. "I suppose in some way, I'll miss you too. But you understand why I'm angry, right?"

"Yes," Christian told her. "We don't need to dwell on it anymore. Goodbye, Jill. You and the baby take care of yourselves."

"We will," Jill assured him. She then ended the call and went to seek out Malachai. "So…was beating up Christian your idea or someone else's?"

Malachai sighed. "We just did it cause we thought it would be easier to get you back if he was hurt."

"I understand that you're concerned for my well-being and stuff, but what you did….that just made things worse for me," Jill told him. "I know you meant well, but after you beat Christian up, he went to see John and then John put a spell on him that ultimately made him kill me as a message to you never to pull any shit like that ever again."

"It did?" Malachai looked horrified. "Oh, Jill, I'm so sorry. That wasn't what we had in mind at all."

"I know it wasn't," Jill replied and put a hand on his. "And thank goodness Christian came back to himself soon enough that he was able to save me. I've apparently got a demon heart in me now." She paused. "That's not gonna be problematic for the coven, is it? Cause I know you were worried before about my loyalties."

Malachai sighed. "I don't know what we're gonna do about the coven anymore," He said. "It seemed like it would be the right thing to do when I believed the villains we would be fighting against would be John and my sister, but then it all got complicated and I'm not quite sure what the right way is."

"We'll figure it out," Jill assured him. "And no matter how things turn out with me and Christian, no matter what kind of heart I have, I'm always gonna love you, okay? You don't have to worry about that."

"Thank you," Malachai told her. "I don't know if I really deserve that after what I put you through, but, thank you anyway."

"You're welcome," Jill replied as she hugged him the best she could. "You're very welcome."

* * *

Meanwhile, things weren't so cordial for John.

"I can't believe what you did to Christian," Freya berated him.

"Oh, can we skip the lecture?" John asked irritably. "We already discussed this. You expressed your displeasure. Why do we need to do it again?"

"Because you didn't seem to get the message the first time," Freya told him.

"To save time, let me tell you what I think you're going to say," John said, advancing on her as her breathing began to pick up and her eyes widened. "You're gonna tell me that you don't want to sleep with me anymore. That I should find a couch to rest my head on. And if I continue to be this way, you're gonna move out and be with your father." He paused as his chest brushed hers. "Is that about right?"

Freya stared at him for a second, then her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out, with John catching her before her head hit the floor. He picked her up, put her on the couch in his office, and then went to get a damp cloth to dab on her face and neck.

"What?" She asked when roused. "What happened?"

"You fainted," John replied. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No," Freya shook her head, "I just…you've been stressing me out lately with all the shit you've been doing to Christian. Stop that, would you?" She then strode from the room without so much as a 'Thank you', leaving John very confused.

When Freya reached her and John's bedroom, she went inside and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her and then going to lie down on the bed. Her head was pounding and John's constant trouble-making just made it worse. As she stared up at the ceiling and tried to get the pounding to go away without getting any sort of medicine to help, she put a hand on her belly and said quietly, "that was a close one. You're just damn lucky I was able to get away before John got too suspicious and started asking questions. Behave yourself. It's the best thing for both of us just now, trust me. Between your father and mine, it's way too early to let the world know you exist. Way. Too. Early."

* * *

"What can I get for you today?" Sam asked as Christian strode into the bar. When he saw his friend's sad look and heard his request of "Give me whatever you can reach easiest and lots of it," he said, "So it finally happened? That prophecy thing that is gonna make Jill hate you?"

"Yep," Christian nodded. "Killed her yesterday. Slit her throat. Brought her back, and the whole reason why it happened was because I was under a spell put on me by my father, but that's still no excuse."

"Well, like I told you," Sam assured him, "When Jill has your kid, I'll have Leslie convince her to let us babysit and then you can see your kid. That should make you feel better, right?"

"I don't see how you're not horrified by my just telling you that I murdered my pregnant wife," Christian told him. "What sort of sane person does that? It's probably something I'll never be able to come back from."

"I don't mean to eavesdrop," said a voice behind him, "but if your experience is anything like my own, you'll come back from it. It'll take a long time, but you will."

Christian spat out his drink and turned in the direction of the voice, which belonged to Klaus who was coming to sit on a bar stool beside him. "You killed your pregnant wife?"

"Yes, and unlike you, I can't say I was under a spell at the time," Klaus replied.

"But why would you do it?" Christian wanted to know. "What would possibly make you...?"

"I found out Amy was having an affair, all right?" Klaus told him. "I wasn't even sure the child she was carrying was mine. So I...I got mad and I...I killed her. Our daughter was born just before she died. Then I found out she had vampire blood in her system so she came back, but I still had hell to pay."

"Well, I should hope so!" Christian told him indignantly. "You shouldn't just kill your wife because you _think_ she's been unfaithful to you!"

"The young man she was having an affair with was my own son," Klaus told him. "By another woman, of course."

"Still," Christian said, "That doesn't make it okay."

"Oh, I know that," Klaus replied. "And with that sort of firm moral stance, your wife'll probably take you back in time without trouble."

"I'm sure of that now," Christian told him. "Thanks for putting things in perspective for me."

"You're welcome," Klaus replied. "Anything I can do to help."

"Who was that?" Christian asked when he was gone."

"That's Klaus," Sam said. "He comes here a lot. He's Roxie's dad, so he was my stepfather at one point I guess. Didn't spend a lot of time around him though."

"That's lucky," Christian told him. "It seems like you really dodged a bullet there."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "In a way, I suppose I did. And it's gonna be okay, though. We'll get this mess sorted out."

"I know we will," Christian smiled. "Thanks for your help."

"You're very welcome," Sam replied.


	72. Thank Heaven For Baby Girls

When Sarah finally decided to get out of the house and go somewhere, the first place she went was John and Freya's.

"Is John home?" She asked.

"No," Freya shook her head. "He's not. But I don't know why you'd want to talk to him."

"Oh, I have _plenty_ of things I want to stay to that heartless monster, but I don't think they would have any effect on him, so…can I tell you instead?"

"Of course," Freya nodded and gestured at the sofa. "Please tell me what he's done now. And don't hold back."

"Well," Sarah sighed and leaned forward. "It's kind of hard for me to think about, and I just recently got to the point where it's not at the forefront of my mind every single day, but…you know that Christian was attacked by Malachai and my brothers, right?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "I know that. And that led John to put a spell on Christian so that he would hurt Jill and she would be an example to Malachai not to repeat that with anyone else."

"Well, what John also did was, he came to our house, picked a fight with Junior because he wanted Junior to help him avenge what happened to Christian, and when he wouldn't do it, John kidnapped me and took me to some cave somewhere where he tortured me exactly the same way Christian had been tortured. That made me go into labor, and then John told me the child I delivered was dead. But I think he lied somehow. I think either she's still alive somewhere, or he took her and killed her somewhere else."

The words made Freya feel as if she'd been socked in the gut. She reached out and put a hand on Sarah's face and then took her in her arms. "I'm so sorry that happened to you," she said. "I really am. And believe me, John will get hell for it when I see him next."

"I don't know if you should," Sarah told her. "It's a nice thought and all, but…if you get mad at him for my sake, he could just make things worse for me, and I don't know if it's worth it."

"Of course it's worth it!" Freya told her. "If he did something bad to you, he should pay for it! And what he did, that's particularly despicable, you know?" She sighed. "It…really makes me wonder, you know? If John can treat his granddaughter that way then how would he treat…?" She lapsed into silence. "You know what? Never mind. You can either stay here, or you can go home and rest. Whatever works."

"I think I want to go home," Sarah told her. "Thanks for offering to let me stay, though. It's nice to know that not everyone who associates with John is a complete lunatic."

"I've had my moments of lunacy," Freya admitted. "I think they're what made me find John appealing in the first place. But being with him has made me grow a bit. And just in time, too." She led her to the door and opened it so Sarah could leave, but before she did, Freya had some parting words for her. "You probably don't want to hear this from me, but…if there's anything more I can do for you, anything at all…please let me know, all right?"

"Thanks," Sarah smiled. "And of course I'll take you up on it. You're like the one person in the world John would actually listen to. It would be stupid not to take advantage of that."

"That's what I thought too," Freya nodded. "I hope you feel better soon, Sarah."

"Yeah," Sarah said. "I hope I do too."

* * *

"When were you going to tell me what you did to Sarah?" Freya demanded of John.

"I don't have to tell you anything," John replied. "It's none of your business."

"You kidnapping and torturing a pregnant woman is none of my business?" Freya spat. "I don't believe you!"

"You should," John told her. "I'm no paragon of virtue and if you've deluded yourself into thinking I am, that's your fault, not mine."

"Oh, I don't think you have _any_ virtues at all," Freya spat. "What you did to poor Christian proved that. And now you're punishing Junior too? But _why_?"

"Cause he refused to help me avenge his brother," John said. "The stubborn boy needed to be taught a lesson."

"At least you didn't kill the baby," Freya said quietly as she resisted the impulse to put a hand on her belly. "I believed that since it was a girl, you would have."

"Oh, I did," John told her. "It was a quick and merciful death, though. I don't believe the child felt any pain." He paused. "How do you know about Sarah?"

"She came to talk to me earlier," Freya said. "She told me everything. Didn't leave a single thing out."

John crossed his arms and smirked at her. "And now that you have this information, what do you plan to do with it? Scold me and send me to my room? That's not gonna work, you know."

His eyes then strayed down to her low-cut green top. "You know, your breasts are looking much fuller than usual," he remarked. "How delightful."

"No, they aren't," Freya shook her head. "I don't know what could possibly make you think that."

"I think that because I have eyes and I'm looking at you right now," John told her. "And trust me, if there's anyone on this earth as familiar with your breasts as you are, it's me."

"What's your point?" Freya asked.

"My point is that there's something going on here!" John cried. "Your breasts are bigger, you're suddenly ill, you faint a lot more often than any healthy person should…and then you get all upset about Sarah and her child…are you pregnant again?"

"No, I'm not pregnant again!" Freya shook her head and chuckled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Yes, you are," John told her. "Don't you lie to me."

"I'm not lying!" Freya told him. "Calm down, would you?"

But he didn't.

That night, Freya couldn't sleep because John's muttering and tossing and turning were keeping her awake.

"What's going on?" She asked after turning on the light at last. "Are you thinking about me being pregnant still?"

"Yes!" John nodded, his eyes wide and crazed. "You are! And you're gonna have a little girl and turn her against me and you'll be just as bad as my mother and damn sisters!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Freya asked. "I'm. Not. Pregnant."

He looked down at her chest, reaching under her night gown to give her breasts a squeeze and she tried not to wince at the pain cause they were beginning to be tender. "You know, I can think of one thing that might get rid of my nightmares. You could be a big help."

Freya pushed him away. "No, thank you," she said and got out of bed. "I think some nightmares would be good for you." She then got up, strode to the light switch, turned off the light, and slammed the bedroom door behind her, leaving John alone while she searched for another bed to sleep in where she might actually get the peace and quiet she deserved.

* * *

"Not that it's any of my business, but I remember that the doctor said that your baby is gonna be a big one," Helene said to Jill. "Maybe you should take them up on that offer to do a c-section."

"And believe me, if my baby's father was _not_ a demon, I would go for that," Jill said. "But how would I explain a baby that has pointy ears and red eyes and stuff to a delivery room staff? No, this is something that should stay just between us."

"I understand where your head is, but I worry," Helene sighed. But it was Jill's baby and she wasn't going to be swayed, it seemed.

* * *

So when she went into labor a few days later, Helene let her go for much longer than a sane doctor would before saying to Malachai who stood with her at Jill's bedside, "I think you know what we have to do. We have to call him. Christian can help."

"Christian?" Jill strained. "Not a chance in hell! I can get through this! I don't need his help! What could he do anyway?" She let out another scream as Helene went to call Christian, whether Jill liked it or not.

"Thank you for calling me," Christian said as Helene let him in. "Is it bad? Is she going to die without my help?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that she'd _die_ ," Helene assured him. "But your baby is large and she's labored a long time. I think that with your help, we can finally get this over with and your child can come into this world."

"I'll see what I can do," Christian nodded. "But I can't promise anything."

As they got back to the bedroom, Jill saw him and screamed. "No, what did you call him for? I told you I could handle this!"

"How much longer do you want to waste in labor because you're being stubborn?" Christian asked her. "I didn't come to hurt you. Just to get our baby out." He looked at Helene. "Cause couldn't there be problems for the baby too if it just stays in there?"

"Yep," Helene nodded. "There very well could be."

"See?" Christian told her. "This isn't just about you anymore. Do you really want to put our child's life at risk because you're stubborn?"

"Fine, you can help," Jill told him. "But once she's out and fine, you leave. Got it?"

"Yes, I get it," Christian nodded. "After the baby comes out, I promise things will be back to how we agreed they would be."

After Jill finally agreed to Christian's help, he and Helene worked out a way to get the delivery done with. Since the size of the child made a typical delivery impossible, they came to the conclusion that, just like had been done with Freya, Jill would have to be cut open.

"Seriously?" Jill cried, her voice full of panic. "Do you even know how to do that? What if you mess up? What if I die? That will just suck!"

"You aren't gonna die," Christian told her and zapped up a potion. "Drink that. It'll calm you down and make you not feel a thing."

"I don't think I will," Jill said. "I don't trust you."

"Then trust me," Helene told her firmly. "Drink it."

Jill narrowed her eyes at both of them and then downed the potion before lying back on the pillow and waiting to die because she was sure that that's what would happen. She looked up at the ceiling for several minutes, and then shut her eyes until she finally heard a baby's cry. She opened them again, and tried to sit up, but Christian stopped her. "Wait a minute," he said. "You're still cut open. Unless you want the interesting experience of seeing your own guts, stay down."

Sighing impatiently, Jill lay back down until Christian told her it was okay for her to sit up. She winced at the pain that shot through her every time she moved, but figured it could be worse. Helene gave her the baby to look at for a few seconds and then Jill yawned. "I'm…really very tired all of a sudden," she remarked. "I didn't notice it before, but now I do."

"Well, of course," Helene nodded. "You've been in labor for hours. I'd be surprised if you _weren't_ tired. You should rest now."

"All right," Jill nodded. Then she looked at Christian. "Thanks for getting the baby out," she said. "You can go now. You don't need to be here anymore."

"Don't worry," Christian told her. "I'm leaving."

"Good," Jill told him as she took another potion Helene offered her and drifted off to sleep. "You better."

* * *

"Thank you for your help," Helene told Christian, who'd chosen to stay once Jill was asleep. He sat in a rocking chair some feet away from the bed where Jill had delivered their baby, watching her cradle the infant, his daughter with a smile on his face as his eyes shone with tears that had yet to fall. She looked at Jill, who was sound asleep with the aid of a spell after her long labor. Knowing Jill would object very strongly to what she was about to do, Helene decided to let Christian hold the baby. he deserved a reward after all he'd done. She turned around, strode over to the chair where he sat, and placed the squirming bundle in his arms. "Here's your little girl," she said. "Jill told me she wanted to name her Sophia. Is that all right with you?"

"Yeah," Christian smiled down at the little girl and held her close as he kissed the tufts of feathery blonde hair on her head. "That's fine with me. Sophia is a lovely name." After Helene left to give him privacy, he held her close and said in a hushed voice, "I'm your father, Sophia, and I love you very much. Ever since the day your mother told me you were coming, I've been so excited to meet you. You probably won't see me very much as you grow up because I made a mistake that caused your mommy not to like me very much. I don't blame her for that. With all the craziness that's going on between our families, our being separated is probably the best thing for both of you. But I love her, and I love you, and just know that even though you won't see me, I'll be thinking of you every single day, and besides your mother, I've never loved someone so much at first glance in my whole life. And hopefully, when you're a little older and things aren't so crazy, I'll finally get to see you in person. That's going to be the best day of my life." He then rocked her back and forth until Helene came in again and said it was time for her to be fed.

"Jill's still asleep, should we wake her for that?" Christian asked.

"No, let's not," Helene shook her head and handed him a bottle. "Why don't you do the honors? Jill will have plenty of chances."

It was while he was feeding his daughter that Jill woke up and looked angrily at Helene. "What's _he_ still doing here?" She asked, gesturing at Christian. "I said I wanted him gone!"

"He helped you deliver your child!" Helene stood her ground. "Don't you think he deserves some time with her? Just give him a few hours, especially when you're gonna get the rest of her life."

"I can't believe you risked her life like this," Jill shook her head. "You left him alone with her! He could have killed her!"

"She doesn't look dead to me," Helene said. "I think she looks happy for a baby."

"What is your big problem with this?" Christian asked Jill in a hushed voice. "This is probably the only time I'm gonna see her. Can't you just let me have it?"

"No, and you know why?" Jill asked. "Cause you and she have _bonded_ now. How am I supposed to keep her safe and keep up the pretense of you being out of her life when you and she have bonded? It's gonna make me seem like the most horrible mother in the world cause I'll be depriving my child of time with a parent that she's cuddled with and stuff!"

"You won't be," Christian told her. "You'll watch over her. You'll be good, you'll be kind…and if she ever asks, you'll explain the truth about why I can't be with her. There'll be no reason for you to feel bad at all."

"Her middle name's Christine," Jill said quietly. "I figure that it's only right."

"Thank you," Christian said. "I appreciate it." He finished feeding Sophia and then gave her back to her mother. "Thank you so much for giving me such a beautiful daughter. Take good care of her for me, will you?"

"Yes," Jill promised as he made his way out the door. "I will."


	73. Freya Makes A Run For It

After hearing what John had done to Sarah and her baby, Freya was in a tough spot. She knew that she couldn't stay with John. Not now, not ever. It would put everything and everyone in too much danger.

At the same time, she also knew she couldn't go home because her father would probably feel just as bad about things as John did. After a lot of thinking, she decided to pack her bags and go to a hotel until she had an idea of where to go from there.

And when John saw her bags, he didn't seem surprised. "So you're finally leaving," he remarked.

"Yes," Freya nodded and picked up her bags. "I said that's what I was gonna do, didn't I? And I don't see any reason not to keep my word. And I bet you can't give me any reason to stay, can you?"

"No," John shook his head. "If you'd like to go, I have no intention of stopping you."

"I thought you would say that," Freya replied. "Goodbye, John." She was surprised but relieved when he didn't try and stop her. It took some driving around before she found a hotel that met her standards and when she was settled in, she called Gwen.

"Yes, dear?" Gwen answered. "How are you?"

"Better than I was a little bit ago," Freya replied. "I know it's been awhile since I called and I'm sorry, but I thought you'd want to know that I finally left John. I'm at Windham Hill Plaza until I figure out a more long-term solution if you want to reach me. In room 506."

"All right, I'll be sure to remember that," Gwen assured her. "But why waste money at a hotel? You know you have a home here with your father and me."

"Thank you, but…there's something going on with me that would make being at home a little difficult I think," Freya replied.

"And what's that?" Gwen wanted to know.

"I can't tell you yet," Freya replied. "Please just trust me."

"Then it was good you got out of there when you did," Gwen praised. "How far along are you?"

"I'm not showing yet," Freya said. "But I'm ill and stuff, so I know that has to be why." She paused. "And you know that if Daddy hears that I'm carrying another one of John's children, it's going to make him lose his temper."

"Well, I can't say he'll be over the moon," Gwen sighed. "But give it time. I suppose he'll adjust. Until then, you do what you feel is right. Just make sure you call every once in a while to let us know you're alive."

"And you won't say anything about my condition to Daddy?" Freya questioned.

"Of course not," Gwen assured her. "It's not my place. I'll leave it up to you."

"Thank you," Freya told her. "Thank you very much."

* * *

Though he knew that separating from Jill and Sophia was for the best, Christian still found that being alone in the apartment was difficult. At least he had Snowball and Snowflake to occupy him. After he walked them, enjoying the look of horror on people's faces as he walked down the street, he returned home and checked the messages on his phone. One of them was from his mother, telling him that she wanted to speak to him.

Intrigued, Christian called Freya back and told her, "I got your message. What do you want to tell me?"

"I've finally decided to leave your father," Freya told him. "Took me long enough, right?"

"Hey, I'm not gonna yell at you about it," Christian replied. "What finally made you go?"

"I'm expecting another child," Freya replied. "Your father is convinced it's gonna be a little girl and it's making him crazy."

"So you decided to protect your child?" Christian asked. "Good for you. And I won't tell Dad, I swear."

"I'm finally learning," Freya agreed. "I'm at a hotel until I figure out what to do next, and when I decide that, I'll let you know. And I didn't think you would say anything, which is why I told you."

"Thanks," Christian told him. "And it's good you called. I wanted to call you too and tell you that Jill had our baby. Her name is Sophia."

"How nice!" Freya exclaimed. "Did you just hear about it secondhand, or…?"

"No," Christian told her. "Her delivery was difficult and I was called in to help. I've seen my daughter and she's beautiful. But Jill and I have decided that they should stay away in case Dad gets it in his head to make them pawns. He already made me kill her and I don't want anything like that to happen again."

"That's very selfless," Freya told him. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Christian said. "But I admit it's something that's a lot easier to say than experience. I'm really lonely at the apartment. I mean, I have Snowflake and Snowball. But it's not like they can talk."

"Well, why don't you talk to that friend of yours that works at the bar?" Freya suggested. "Maybe he can figure something out for you. You shouldn't have to be alone during all this."

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Christian told her. "Thanks for the suggestion, Mom."

"You're welcome," Freya said. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," he said. "And if there's anything I can do for you, let me know."

"I will," Freya assured him. "Don't worry."

They ended their call and then after Christian found a place to put the wolves, he headed for the bar to talk to Sam, and maybe get a drink or two.

* * *

"Can I have a room?" Christian asked as he strode into the bar and put some money down on the table in front of Sam. "Jill had our baby, and Helene wanted me to come help her deliver it. It opened up some old wounds. It made me remember that all of my parts miss Jill, even when she's yelling at me."

"Leslie has a niece now?" Sam grinned. "I'll tell her." He then said, "If you can't stay at home, why don't you come and stay with Leslie and me?"

"That's a really nice offer, but…since you still live with your dad and Annie, I wouldn't want to inconvenience them. Remember, not everyone is tolerant of me like you and Leslie are."

"I'm sure it wouldn't bother Dad and Annie, but if you really would rather have a room here, let's see what we can do for you," Sam told him and picked up his money. "Let's see what we can do."

They got him set up in a room and Sam said, "Are you sure you want to stay here? Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay with us?"

"I might later if you talk to the other people in your house and make sure they're okay with it," Christian told him. "That would be nice."

They then went back downstairs and found Leslie sitting on a barstool. "There you are," she grinned at Sam. "Hello, Christian. Jill called and told me I have a niece now. And that you helped deliver her. Thanks for your help."

"Oh, it was no trouble, really," Christian shook his head. "I liked it because it was the only way I would have seen my daughter."

Leslie smiled at him and put a hand on his. "It won't last forever, you know. She'll eventually have some sort of vision that will tell her that you and she will have your happy ending and then things won't be so hard anymore."

"You think?" Christian asked.

"Yeah," Leslie told her. "I do. Do you?"

"I hope so," Christian said and then pounded on the bar and asked for a drink while passionately wishing for Jill's gift to see the future so he could know for sure, one way or the other.

* * *

"Can I ask for your advice, Mom?" Sam asked when he met Selina at an ice cream store by the bar.

"Sure," Selina nodded. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, you remember my friend Christian, don't you?" Sam asked

"The guy everyone was freaked out by at your wedding?" Selina asked. "What about him? Why were people scared of him? Is he evil?"

"He's done some bad things," Sam nodded. "Like he just killed his pregnant girlfriend. He used his magic to bring her back to life, but it caused trouble with them."

"Well, I can understand why," Selina said. "Killing someone is bad."

"I need advice on how to help him," Sam said. "He feels really bad and just wants to see his child. As a former evil person, I thought you would have some sympathy. Do you?"

"Is he sorry about what he did?" Selina asked.

"Of course," Sam nodded. "Or else I wouldn't be helping him fix it all."

"In that case, of course I have sympathy!" Selina replied. "Actually, I would anyway. I know what it's like to be separated from a child due to circumstances beyond your control. Do you want me to tell Christian that story and give him hope?"

"I think it might help," Sam replied. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Selina said as she dug into her banana split and Sam took a swig of his milkshake.

* * *

When Sam told Christian about this, Christian was hesitant. "Do you really think your mother can help me?" He asked. "I mean, I've been in some very deep, dark stuff."

"So has my mother," Sam assured him. "Trust me. Ask any vampire what they know about 'Lonely Heart' and you'll hear something pretty damn dark."

"And Lonely Heart is your mother?" Christian said.

"Yes," Sam nodded. "Exactly. But what would help you has nothing to do with her Lonely Heart past. But I'll let her tell you her story. She can tell it a lot better than I can."

So they went to Selina and Elijah's house where Selina met them at the door and led them to the library. "All right," she said to Christian. "I can tell you my whole story, or just cut to the most pertinent information. Which one would you like?"

"Let's skip to the most pertinent information," Christian decided. "I got separated from my daughter and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. It's making me feel guilty."

"And that's perfectly natural," Selina assured him. "One of the last things I did as a human was give birth to Sam's brother Joshua. Then, just before I was turned into a vampire, Joshua was taken away from me and given to his grandfather to raise. It crushed me. I was awake lots of nights worrying if he was gonna be all right. Wondering if I should go in search of him and take him back."

"And did you?" Christian asked. "Did you go and take your son back?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I didn't. I was a new vampire, and when you're a new vampire, raising a human child isn't the best idea, especially not with the way I was brought into it. In fact, that's probably why my father didn't come back right after he was turned, either. Along with his worries about how my mother would react. Not going after Joshua was one of the toughest decisions I made, and…I suffered. I still worried about what he would be like and if he really was better off being raised by someone else, wondering if I'd ever get any answers."

"And did you?" Christian asked. "Please tell me you did."

"Yes," Selina nodded as Christian let out his breath and looked heavenward. "It took nearly twenty years, but I finally did see my boy all grown up. He came to where I was staying to investigate reports of a ghost haunting the place. Then he found me, and it was…it was wonderful. I got to see that he'd grown up really well, and that luckily, every fear I'd had over the years was for nothing."

"And did he accept you?" Christian asked. "When he found out you were a vampire?"

"Yeah, he did," Selina nodded. "It was very surprising, but luckily for me, he spent more time around people who looked upon vampires favorably than those who condemned them, so even after everything, we were able to have a good relationship." She paused. "He knew why I didn't raise him and he…he forgave me." She paused. "Does that make you feel better about your own situation?"

"Where my daughter is concerned, yes," Christian nodded as he locked eyes with her. "Her mother is another story, but I have a feeling that that will all work itself out in the end."

"Well, I'll be rooting for you," Selina assured him. "Being separated from your child for reasons that are beyond your control is a painful thing to go through and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Christian then turned to face Sam, who just smiled at him and said, "See? I told you this would help."

* * *

A few days later, Elijah answered a knock on the door and was surprised to see his sister Freya standing on his doorstep. "Yes?" He asked. "If you've come to cause trouble for my wife, you can just be on your way."

"I guess I deserve that," Freya conceded and put down the bags she carried. "But I didn't come to pick a fight with your wife. I came to apologize to her. And once I do, if it's all right with her, can I stay with you? I've finally come to my senses about John and I need a place to sleep."

"Have you asked Niklaus?" Elijah wanted to know. "Why come to me first?"

"Because you know I get along better with you than I do with him," Freya pointed out. "For god's sake, will you please let me come in and talk to your wife? If she tells me to go, then I'll go, I promise." She paused. "Come now. You wouldn't banish a pregnant woman from your house without at least giving me a chance to stay, would you?"

Elijah huffed and let her in, but told her, "I don't know why you expect the news that you're carrying a second child from the man who wants to destroy us all to make me pity you."

"I told you," Freya repeated. "I've left him. And I have no intention of coming back. Once he killed his own granddaughter out of pure hatred, that was the last straw for me."

"Well, I should hope so," Elijah nodded. "Do you need blood?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Freya nodded. "Thank you."

When Selina came out of the library and saw Freya, she let out a cry. "What's she doing here?" She yelled at Elijah. "Why did you let her in when she's most likely come to kill me?"

"Actually, she says she's come to apologize," Elijah told her. "She also claims that she's left John and is attempting to turn over a new leaf. And that, if it's all right with you, could she stay with us?"

"I'm really sorry for how I've treated you over the years," Freya told her. "And that time that I tried to kill you and you had to be in the hospital. That won't happen again, I swear."

"Do you?" Selina asked. "Cause I'm not going anywhere, you know. If your father can't scare me off, you won't either."

"You stay in your lane and I'll stay in mine," Freya promised and held out her hand. "Deal?"

Selina studied her for a little bit, both to see whether or not she was lying and so she could gather up the clues that gave away Freya's condition. "Are you pregnant?" She asked.

"Yeah, I am," Freya nodded. "Is it obvious?"

Selina nodded. "To a person who's had as many kids as I have, it is." She paused. "I suppose if you want to make peace and you don't bear me any ill will, you can stay," she said. "But just so you know, our son is a newlywed and he lives here too, with his wife. Will that bother you?"

"No," Freya shook her head. "I've lived in a full house before. I can stand it."

"All right," Selina nodded. "Come with me and I'll show you to a room." She walked beside Freya in case the Original decided to do something to her before they reached the room. And once Freya had settled in, Elijah gave Selina a hug.

"Thank you for letting my sister stay with us," he told her. "It won't be forever, I promise."

Selina sighed. "She seems to be serious about getting along with me, so I don't mind," she said. "It's no trouble."

"But I still owe you big," Elijah told her. "You wanna go out to dinner or something?"

"No, I want to see a movie," Selina grinned as she pulled out a request that he'd resisted for a long time. "At a drive-in."

"Do we have to?" Elijah groaned. "Fine. I suppose if that's your request, I will sit in a car and watch a movie with a bunch of other people in cars. And eat food in my car, which will undoubtedly make a big mess."

"Yeah," Selina nodded and pulled him after her to the library so they could look in the paper and pick a movie. "It'll be great!"


	74. A Reminder Of What Was Lost

"Well, look at you, John," said the familiar smug voice as Edele came up behind him and began massaging his shoulders. "You're all alone. You know this never would have happened if you'd stayed with _me_."

"Get off," John huffed and pulled his shoulders out of her grip. "If you've come here to gloat, I will kill you."

"Oh, how I missed the threats," Edele deadpanned as she took a seat on his desk. "Seriously, though, what will you do now? Give up on the plan?"

"Why the hell would I give up on the plan?" John asked. "You can tell whoever you're spying for that things will be as they were, regardless of what's happened. Do you understand?"

"Will you relax?" Edele questioned. "I'm not spying for anyone. I just came because I thought you would want the company."

"I want company," John nodded. "Just not yours."

The doorbell rang and John, knowing that it could only be one of so many people on the other side, sped to the door and opened it. "Well, well, well," he smiled at Freya. "I knew you couldn't stay away for long."

"Don't get excited," Freya told him and pushed her way inside. "I just came for my father's picture. Then I'm _truly_ leaving and not coming back, barring some miracle."

"Well, be my guest and take that damn picture," John told her as he followed her to their bedroom. "Cause I sure as hell don't want anything to do with it."

So Freya took the picture and after she zapped it to her hotel room, John followed her to the door. "You know you could stay," he said. "There's no reason why you have to leave so quickly."

"Yes, there is," Freya nodded. "Does the effect of your actions on other people ever register with you? I have no desire to be with a man who would kill any daughter that I might have. And that's what would happen if I stayed here and got pregnant, right? You already have it in your head that I'm expecting some non-existent baby girl."

"Oh, I don't think it's non-existent," John said, running to his office and producing a pregnancy test when he returned. "It's positive. How do you explain this if you're not pregnant?"

"That's not mine, you idiot!" Freya cried while trying to keep her cool.

"Well, whose is it then?" John asked through his teeth. "Who else besides you would throw away things in the waste baskets of this house?"

"That was mine, John," Edele's voice sounded as she came into the room to join them. "Not hers. So you and your deluded little mind can go back to thinking like normal."

"Oh, that poor child," John told her dryly. "Especially if it's a boy. You'll put him through the wringer."

"I don't treat boys any differently than you treat girls," Edele told him. "So you _really_ shouldn't be talking."

John glared at both his women, who seemed, for once, to be in accord.

"Anything you want to say?" Freya smirked. "Go ahead. We're listening."

"I need a drink," John said and quickly strode from the room, muttering under his breath.

When he was gone, Freya turned to Edele and gave her a smile. "Thank you so much for saving my ass like that. I know we haven't been friends, but…you really were a big help."

"It's no trouble, really," Edele pushed the praise away. "Any excuse to make John think he's nuts is something I'm really willing to help with. But you know you won't be able to get away with it forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to get him out of the way."

"I know," Freya nodded. "I just need to figure out how to do it." She paused. "You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would you?"

"Not off the top of my head," Edele told her. "But I'll start thinking."

"Thank you," Freya smiled. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Edele put a hand on her arm and grinned back. "It really is my pleasure."

* * *

"Do you like where you're staying?" Christian asked his mother later that day. "Cause if not, I think I might have a better offer for you."

"Oh?" Freya replied, clutching her phone tighter. "What is it?"

"Well, the apartment's really empty without Jill here, and I'm kind of lonely, so I thought, if you wanted, you could come and stay with me," Christian got out. "We're both people without our significant others. You need a roof over your head, I want company. It could work out. Plus, my friend Sam is all about wanting me to come and stay with him and a couple of Jill's sisters, which is gonna be really awkward any way you look at it. So if you stay with me, I can get out of _that_ awkward situation."

"If you want to have me, I would love to come," Freya said. "I'm sure my sister in law won't protest too much when I tell her that I'm leaving." She paused. "Can I move in today, or do you need more time to get ready for me?"

"No, you can come by any time you want," Christian assured her. "I'll be waiting for you."

* * *

So Freya ended the call and went to tell Selina the good news.

"You're leaving so soon?" she asked in surprise. "I mean, I know we have our difficulties, but I really meant it when I said you were welcome to stay."

"I know, and that's…that's really nice of you," Freya told her. "But my son called and asked if I wanted to come stay with him at his apartment, and I really think that's a better idea. Don't you?"

"Yeah," Selina said after thinking it over for a moment. "But I hope…I hope that we can keep seeing each other, you know? I mean, we'll probably never be the best of friends, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try, you know? Think of how many members of your family I've won over. I bet we could get along. I mean, you don't _seem_ to be as stubborn as your father, now that I've gotten to know you."

Freya nodded. "And I will concede that on some level, you've matured from the cursing, alcohol-swilling woman who was married to Aleksandr."

"Oh, I'm still like that sometimes," Selina told her. "I just do a better job of covering it up now that I'm no longer in the early days of my vampirism and stewing endlessly about an engagement that was ruined and a child that was lost."

"You were going through all that when you were with Aleksandr?" Freya asked, her jaw dropping a little. "I had no idea."

"It's okay," Selina shrugged. "I wasn't exactly in the mood to be open about it since it was still so raw." She paused. "So…you're moving in with your son, then? That sounds like fun."

"I don't know if that would be the word I would use, but…I'm looking forward to it," Freya told her. "Thanks again for taking me in in the meantime."

"You're welcome," Selina replied. "And good luck with everything."

"Thanks," Freya gave her a small smile. "I think I'm going to need it."

* * *

When Freya knocked on Christian's apartment door and stirred up Snowflake and Snowball, their growling and yipping made her wonder if moving in with Christian was such a good idea. Then he held them back and opened the door, ushering her in.

"Snowflake and Snowball are pretty harmless," he assured her and encouraged her to scratch them behind the ears. "They only attack if I tell them to, and luckily, I don't usually have to do that."

"Did you get them to protect Jill in case your father got ideas?" Freya asked. "I can't think of any other reason why you would have two large wolves in your apartment."

"Yeah, that's the reason," Christian nodded. "You wanna pick out your room now? There's two to choose from."

"All right," Freya nodded and they went down the hallway together. It was obvious which one was his (and Jill's) so she avoided it, but when she reached out and touched the doorknob of the door next to it, Christian let out a shriek and pushed her away. "Don't go in there!" He cried. "Don't you _dare_ go in there! That's private!"

"Okay," Freya said, backing away from that door. "Sorry." She picked another room and as Christian helped her unpack, he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I-I didn't mean to push you. It was uncalled for."

"Thank you," Freya nodded. "Can I ask what's in that room that's got you so worked up?"

"I'd have to show it to you," Christian replied. "And after we get you settled in, I will."

So after her clothes were unpacked and her toiletries put in the adjoining bathroom, Christian led her back to the room near his and opened the door.

When Freya looked inside, she saw nothing but darkness. "Maybe we should get some light on in here," she suggested and flipped the switch. When she saw the state of the room with the lights on, it made her gasp and back away into her son's arms.

"Now you know why I didn't want you in here," he said.

Freya found herself looking at what would have been Sophia's nursery. Furniture was overturned and broken, curtains, blankets were ripped to pieces, the yellow and light pink walls were riddled with holes, and she had to be careful as she walked because there were shards of glass littering the floor from the shattered windows. The only thing that was upright and/or in one piece was the rocking chair that sat by the remains of the crib.

Freya sat down in the rocking chair and muttered, "Did you do this after Sophia was born?"

"Yes," Christian nodded and began pacing. "Jill and I planned this room together. We made it up. We had so many plans. And then she ruined them for me! So I came home and I…I took my anger out on all of this because what was the point in having it when the next time I'm allowed to see her, if I do at all, she won't need a crib or anything like that anymore? It's all a waste! I mean, sometimes I come in here and sit, and the yellow walls cheer me up a bit before I realize what I lost, but yeah…it's a waste."

"Not if…" Freya began and hesitated before barreling on. "Not if your father's insane ramblings are correct and your new sibling turns out to be a girl. If that's the case…could we fix up this room and use it for her? It seems such a shame to just keep it a mess like this when it could be used."

"Yeah," Christian nodded, a grin brightening his somber expression. "Yeah, that just might work." He raised his hand and soon the room was set right. "Thanks, Mom. It'll be nice to have this room actually be used for what it was meant for."

"You don't have to thank me," Freya told him. "I should be thanking you, really."

"It's no trouble," Christian brushed off her comments. "I'm just a son trying to help his mother. That's all."

* * *

"So this is her," Malachai remarked as he came to stand behind Helene who was cradling baby Sophia, watching her while Jill took a well-deserved nap. "The child who was fathered by a demon."

"It may be true, but I don't think you should talk about her that way," Helene replied. "Let her just be a baby for now."

"How can you not be completely terrified?" Malachai wanted to know.

"Well, think about it," Helene told him. "Three of the kids I gave birth to were part vampire and the fourth can turn into fire when angry. I think I'm well-prepared for children that can be seen as demonic. And why the hell are you scared of her? Because of who her father is? Malachai, I am ashamed of you! If you and the boys hadn't attacked her father, then John wouldn't have felt the need to use Christian to go after Jill, and the two of them would be happily raising their baby together away from you. Your actions led to the situation we're in now, so I won't have you treating an innocent child badly, you got it?"

"Yes," Malachai sighed and got up to go to their room. "I understand, I'm sorry."

It was just as Sophia was falling asleep that Jill emerged from her room. "I'm allowed to leave my bed now, aren't I?" She asked. She and Helene had sparred about how much rest she needed after her difficult delivery, and she was not shy about letting Helene know how annoying her restrictions were.

"Yes, you can leave your bed now," Helene told her. "Since you seem to be strong enough."

"Thank you," Jill replied and held her arms out. "May I have my baby please?"

"Here you go," Helene replied, grudgingly placing the baby in her mother's arms. Jill was so protective of her that she hardly ever shared the little girl or let her out of her sight. On the one hand, Helene thought she understood why, but if that attitude continued, it might lead to some trouble for Sophia along the line.

"Are you ever gonna let Christian see her?" She finally asked.

"Maybe, if he behaves himself and doesn't screw up anymore," Jill nodded. "I know you think I'm being cruel and unreasonable, but I'm just trying to protect her."

"I understand that," Helene nodded. "I do, believe me. I went through the same sort of thing with my second daughter. Here's the thing, though, and you can take this advice or ignore it. It doesn't matter to me. But the harder you hold on, the more and more you rationalize in your head why Christian shouldn't be allowed to be anywhere near his daughter, the more you'll just be hurting her. You can hate Christian all you want, but you'll be doing Sophia no favors if you make her a pawn in your fight with him."

"I-I was planning on letting him have supervised visits once she began showing her powers," Jill got out.

"Good," Helene nodded. "I know the thought is terrifying to you, but in the end, it'll be better for everyone, especially your daughter."

"I trust you," Jill nodded. "I know you wouldn't lie to me, or tell me to do anything that would put me or Sophia in danger."

"No, I wouldn't," Helene shook her head. "I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did cause you're so desperate to punish someone who wronged you, especially when I truly believe he feels bad about it. Don't you think he feels bad about it?"

"Yeah," Jill replied after a long silence. "I really think he does."


	75. A World Without Power

It was after he found that pregnancy test that John's mind _really_ began to go. During the night, he would struggle with sleep because every time he closed his eyes, he could see Edele and Freya, standing together, the sound of their laughter ringing in his ears. Sometimes, especially if he'd had a few drinks before bed, he would lie awake, seeing the shadowy forms of the two women, shooting magic at them until they disappeared before turning on the light and realizing, as he tried to slow his heartbeat, that he was alone.

And it wasn't any better during the day. With Freya gone, he took it upon himself to go through what she'd left behind. Though he didn't find anything for a baby, he figured she'd hidden it somewhere.

After he'd torn everything apart and found nothing, he realized that the only way he would regain his sanity would be to leave this place and never come back. Resolute, he packed a bag, set everything on fire, and then set off to live somewhere where no one would ever find him until he wanted them to. But not before plotting a goodbye present for his dear Freya and everyone else in her despicable family along with those they cared about. Hell, maybe even the whole world, while he was at it. It would definitely be something that would make it so they would never forget him.

He looked up at the ceiling, let out a yell, stuck out his finger, and as he cursed his sisters, did his best to undo everything they'd worked so hard to create before stalking out the door and letting it slam loudly behind him.

* * *

"I just realized that there's one more thing I left at your dad's apartment," Freya told Christian. "It's not something I need right away, but maybe I should get it before I forget."

"I'll come with you," Christian offered. "I wouldn't want him to hurt you or try and get you to stay or anything."

"Thank you," Freya smiled. "Aren't you sweet?"

So he zapped them both to John's place and, of course, were immediately struck by what a disaster it was.

"What the hell do you think happened here?" Freya asked as she walked around.

"I would guess that someone killed Dad and tried to cover up the evidence by burning the damn place down, but we know that won't happen," Christian said. "That would be too good to be true."

They looked around and saw no sign of John at all, not even a body, and when they met again, Freya said, "I don't know whether to feel good or bad about this."

"However we feel, we need to warn everyone we can," Christian replied. "Cause you know that anything Dad's up to can't be good." He paused. "Do you think you'll be able to find what you came for?"

Freya shrugged. "I have no idea." She paused. "I don't even remember what I came here for anyway. What do you say we get out of here and warn everyone of what's going on?"

"I couldn't think of a better thing to do myself," Christian agreed. They then left and phoned as many people as they could about what they'd found missing from John's apartment, feeling bad that they couldn't give more information, but satisfied knowing that they were at least putting everyone on their guard in case anything strange happened.

"What do you think your dad is up to?" Freya asked when she'd ended the last call and came to sit next to her son, absentmindedly scratching Snowball behind the ears. "I bet it's something really horrible. I bet he cast some sort of spell that's gonna kill us all and now all we can do is sit back and wait for death!"

Christian scoffed when he heard this idea. "Even if that was the case, why would that apply to us? I could see him doing that to the rest of the world, but logically, wouldn't we be immune since we're a part of his plan?"

"That would be true," Freya agreed. " _If_ your father thought logically. But we know that he can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to that, especially if he's also acting angry or paranoid, which is indeed what he was doing the last time I saw him."

"And what was he acting angry or paranoid about?" Christian asked. "The baby still?"

"Yeah," Freya grinned. "Cause every time he asked about it, I told him that there was no way I was pregnant and it was all in his head."

"Well, that was kind of mean, don't you think?" Christian wanted to know.

"Oh, I don't think so," Freya shook her head. "I know how your father feels about women if they can't do anything for him, so if this child _is_ a girl, the only way to keep her alive is to not tell your father about her." She paused. "Or my father, for that matter."

"Okay," Christian said. "Now I see where you're going. I thought you were just being cruel for no reason."

"Not that your father wouldn't deserve something like that after all he's done, but one of us should be the bigger person," Freya got out. "And since he is the way that he is, I guess the role of mature one falls to me."

"Yeah," Christian nodded and took his mother's hand. "It would seem like it." Then he said, "You know, if you want a definite answer about what sort of kid you're having, maybe Jill could help you. Since you're not me, she'll probably still talk to you."

Freya smiled at him and put a hand on either side of his face. "Are you suggesting this purely to help me, or because it's also a way for you to know what's going on with Jill in a sneaky way?"

"Does it matter?" Christian asked. "Will you do it? Please?"

"Yes," Freya nodded and hugged him. "I will."

* * *

"Freya!" Jill exclaimed as she opened the door and Freya came in. "I'm kind of surprised to see you."

"I know you are," Freya nodded. "And before you ask, I'm here for myself. Not just because of Christian."

"Oh, come now," Jill told her. "I guess it's nice he sent you to check up on me. In a way, I guess I would be kind of offended if he didn't." Then she cleared her throat and sat down next to her mother-in-law. "Now, you want to know about your baby, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Freya nodded. "If I'm far enough along for that to be possible, of course. Cause John has this idea in his head that it's a girl and it's making him go psycho, and I just…I want to know if that's true or not."

"All right, stand up please," Jill motioned at her. And when Freya did so, she clicked her tongue. "You're not showing, so you're not far enough along to make telling really easy, but I'll see what I can do. I mean, I had the dreams about Christian way before he was even born so surely I can see something about your baby's future."

Freya sat down and then Jill put a hand on her belly, shutting her eyes tight and doing her best to get a good grip on the energies of the child growing inside Freya. Her eyes were shut for a long time and she didn't say a word. When she finally opened them, Freya asked hopefully,"…anything?"

"I saw a lot of pink," Jill told her. "Now, don't take that as gospel cause it could have just been the colors behind my eyes, but…it's also possible that it could mean you're having a girl. At this point, it's really hard to be sure. Plus, it seems like my powers have been a bit on the fritz lately. So have everyone's in this house."

"Well, it's a start, anyway," Freya smiled. "Thank you. Thank you very much." She then opened her mouth to ask a question, paused, and shut her mouth, deciding against it.

"What?" Jill asked. "Were you going to say something?"

"Yes," Freya nodded. "I was, but I figured you wouldn't want to hear it so I decided not to."

"You don't know that," Jill said. "What is it?"

"I wondered if I could see my granddaughter," Freya told her. "Just for a little bit."

Jill hesitated, but then relented, much to Freya's surprise and pleasure, leading her into Sophia's nursery, where hardly anyone was allowed to go.

"This is nice," Freya smiled as she looked around at the mint green walls and the lace curtains. "Christian showed me the room the two of you had made up for her at the apartment. It was lovely too."

"It is, isn't it?" Jill agreed as she set Sophia in Freya's lap. "Hold on to her tight. Don't drop her."

"I won't," Freya assured her as she held Sophia close and cradled her head, rocking back and forth in the chair a little. "Now, what was it you said about your powers being on the fritz?"

Jill shrugged. "Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It's really the darndest thing. Do you think I should go see a doctor or something?"

"If it was just you, then that would be a good idea, but if it's everyone in the house, it might take more than a doctor to fix it." She handed Sophia back to Jill for a moment and tried to do a spell herself. But nothing happened. She did it two more times with the same result. "Okay, that's really weird," she remarked. "What could possibly…?" She gasped. "John. Maybe he did this. Christian and I went to the apartment to get something I left there and he was gone. The whole place was a mess and it seemed like it had all been set on fire!"

"Well, do you think John would mess with people's powers before storming off to nowhere?" Jill asked. "Is it in character for him?"

"Yes," Freya nodded, her eyes narrowing as she called Christian. "It is."

"What's going on?" Christian asked.

"Have you been having a problem with your powers?" Freya wanted to know. "Because Jill says that everyone over here is and when I just tried mine, they didn't work either."

"No, mine are fine," Christian told her. "Do you think Dad had something to do with that?"

"Maybe," Freya said. "Maybe instead of killing us all as a way to get his revenge, he decided to turn us all…human."

"I don't know if I can handle that," Jill shuddered.

"You're telling me," Freya agreed. "I can't either."

"Well, I guess you'll have to," Christian said. "At least until we figure out a way to fix it."

"We can take our time with that," Freya informed him. "Cause if getting my powers back means I have to see your dad again, I can stand to wait a bit."

"All right," Christian told her. "Whatever you say."

* * *

It was soon after John's departure that Amy decided to invite Klaus out to the deck for an early morning breakfast just as the sun was coming up. She grabbed the blood and Klaus' hand and they headed out to the porch.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Amy asked with a sigh. But when she took a swig of blood, oddly enough, she gagged and spit it out all over the deck. And, something even more puzzling, as the sunlight shone on them, Amy realized that she'd left her ring on the bedside table, yet nothing was happening to her.

"Oh, my god," she said and thrust the blood bag at Klaus. "Drink that," she urged.

He did, and she was shocked to see him gag and spit like she had. "Well, isn't that disgusting?" He remarked.

"What the hell is going on?" Amy asked before running to go call Selina.

"What?" Selina asked sleepily.

"I think I'm human," Amy told her. "And Klaus is too. I don't know how and I don't know why. But could you check and see if it's happened to you too? Cause it can't be just us."

"What makes you think that?" Selina asked.

"Well, we drank blood and found it absolutely disgusting," Amy informed her. "And when we went on the deck to look at the sunrise, I went out without my ring accidentally and nothing happened to me."

"Sounds to me like that _definitely_ means something fishy is going on," Selina agreed. "Hold on a minute and I'll see if the same happens to me."

So Amy held onto the phone and heard nothing for a bit, then some arguing, presumably as Elijah tried to talk Selina out of going outside with her ring.

"It will kill you!" Elijah cried. "I don't want that!"

"But Amy said she went out without her ring and was fine," Selina told him. "Something weird is going on. She thinks she and Klaus aren't vampires anymore or something."

"Well, just because Amy and my brother have something wrong with them doesn't mean you have to risk your own life," Elijah pointed out."

"Fine, if you're so worried, why don't you come with me?" Selina suggested,

There was a pause and Selina came back on the line to tell Amy they were going out and would be back.

"Good luck," Amy told her. "I hope nothing is wrong with you."

But when they spoke again, Selina confirmed what she already knew. "Something's happened to us too. We're human. Not that that's a problem. It might be nice to have a human life that doesn't suck. But I feel sorry for the people who have never been human before. I sure do."

"It's not so hard, is it?" Amy asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I'll help you adjust. We'll probably have to help everyone. Maybe we could just gather the troops and talk about what to do. Cause I bet everyone has questions."

"All right, sounds good," Amy told her. "Just tell me when it will be and Klaus and I will be there."

 **The End**

 **Next up: The Good, The Bad, and the Evil: When demons invade and start infesting people, John returns and actually agrees to team with the Mikaelsons to help get rid of the threat.**


End file.
